What does Honor really mean?
by Khalthar
Summary: Created in a lab, it was all she's ever known. Now, she must learn what it's like outside a few simple rooms, and about the universe in general. Among everything she encounters, and learns, one concept she finds difficult to understand, is the one the Yautja call "Honor".
1. Chapter 1

What Does Honor Really Mean?

They were watching. But then they were always watching. Never had they stopped. Never _would_ they stop. Both day and night, they watched constantly. Never once leaving the subject of their intense scrutiny even so much as a single instant in which there was no observation. One some rare occasions they would shed their white coverings and scamper madly about as they became excited about something or other. What they didn't realize, what the men and women of this place couldn't begin to fathom, was that they were also being watched.

Dark pitch-black pupils that seemed to reach into the depths of a soul that may or may not exist were set within green eyes that were the color of the finest emeralds that money could only rarely buy. The long and narrow pupils might have been felinoid in origin, but then they could just have easily been derived from some form of reptile. No one could say for certain, and not even any of the research scientists knew. Those large and impossibly bright green eyes were set wide in a small angular face with honey colored skin. High prominent cheekbones graced features that could almost pass for human. Almost.

The eyes weren't the only facial feature that gave away the fact that the creature under observation wasn't entirely human. There were also the teeth to consider. Long and extremely sharp canines were highly reminiscent of those belonging to the mythical vampire, but that wasn't the only disturbing aspect about them, because they were the color of polished steel. Lengthy golden hair with more than a tint of orange graced the head of the creature being studied. Hair that had never been cut or trimmed, and reached down to just past the creature's waist.

If one were to finally tear one's eyes away from the striking, and penetrating gaze of the creature to travel downward taking note of the skin, one would instantly see that not only was the creature obviously female, but all too naked as well. That same golden honey color extended almost throughout the body of the creature, but was broken by numerous small spots of brown that were only slightly darker than the rest of the skin. Then along the back of the creature were the black stripes like those of the tiger to consider. The belly of the strange creature was a much lighter cream color, and only served to further separate the creature from human. The hands had five fingers each, along with opposable thumbs, but that was where their resemblance to a human ended. Jet black claw shaped nails nearly an inch and a half in length tipped each of the fingers and thumbs. Even those on the toes of the creature were nearly half an inch long. The breasts of the creature were small sized, and sat well on the chest of the rather thin, but athletically muscled body. Those women who were members of the staff observing and studying the creature were incredibly jealous of the fact that no bra was needed to maintain the prominent firmness of those breasts, and that even without exercise, the creature seemed to maintain a very thin but muscular tone. The overall effect of the creature's appearance was one of beauty. A wild untamable and exquisitely feminine beauty that screamed power, grace, agility, and speed.

But then, if one were to somehow ignore the general attractiveness of the creature to examine it more thoroughly, one would note the numerous and various scars embedded in the skin of the creature. The listless and seemingly lifeless uncaring gaze from those green eyes. To the casual observer, it would seem apparent that the spirit of the creature had been completely broken by long captivity and study. That assumption couldn't be further from the truth.

She sat in one corner of the completely transparent room that was raised off the floor of the much larger room where the scientists worked. Her knees were drawn up against her chest, and her hands rested next to her feet. With an unwavering gaze, she watched them. The hated ones. That was how she thought of them. Hated. The hatred that she felt towards each and every one of those creatures who were so similar, and yet so different, was so strong that it was actually painful in its intensity. Her eyes never seemed to shift from their lock on the transparent floor of the room she was in, but that didn't stop her from using her peripheral vision to take note of almost everything that went on down below her.

She hated them. She hated them for many reasons. The constant gnawing hunger and thirst that tore at her, begging to be curbed, but food and water were doled out in meager portions that did little to nothing to satisfy her needs. She hated them for the pain they always caused. She could look down at the numerous scars on her body, and remember the entire process of gaining each one from the hands and knives of those below. She had always been here. Well, in this room or another. It made no difference really. All the rooms were the same in that she was always hurt by some method in each one.

She remembered being smaller. The hated ones had been much less cautious then, and she had learned how to understand their speech. Not that she could readily duplicate it. It hurt her throat terribly to try to speak like them, and she had long ago stopped trying after it had proved ineffectual. Besides, they only cared about what they could do next, not caring at all about how much it hurt. Feeling tired, she closed her eyes and slept. A restless and uneasy sleep filled with dreams in which she was constantly hurt by those who always watched her. Dreams that were no different at all, from the grim and horrible reality in which she lived.

She woke to the familiar sound of the room being moved by the machines the hated ones used. But what was strange was that this time, there was no sense of motion to go with the sound. Opening her eyes, she surreptitiously looked around, and saw a second transparent room being lifted near hers. That was when she noticed that there was something contained inside.

Whatever it was, lay on its stomach, face down. Her head tilted to her right in curiosity as she looked over at the form lying on the floor of the other room. A medium grayish green color that seemed to get lighter towards the stomach and inside the limbs, it too had a covering like the hated ones, but this covering was much, much smaller, and only went at the base of the legs and stomach. Claws similar to those on her toes tipped the fingers of the form lying there, and a quick look at the feet showed her some form of foot covering that went almost to the knee. Looking towards the head, she saw long black fleshy strands that emerged from the head of the still form. Strands that held some type of bands near the tips of them.

As soon as she saw it lying there, tears filled her green eyes, and though she didn't know the words for pity or sorrow because they had never been used in her presence, it didn't stop her from feeling those emotions. The tears fell gently down her face as she looked at the motionless form in the other room, because she knew that the hated ones were going to start hurting it just like they did her. She didn't want that to happen, but she knew that she was powerless to prevent it. She couldn't get the hated ones to stop hurting her, so how could she hope to keep them from hurting another? Then the form moved. It rose to its feet in a smooth graceful motion that told of strength she didn't have. Strength that she knew she should have, but which had been robbed from her.

When he came to, Takaa rose to his feet. He could still feel the effects of the drugs these oomans had used to capture him, but he wasn't going to allow them to know that he was still weakened by those drugs. He instantly took stock of what was left to him. He still had his boots, his loincloth, and surprisingly his battle mask. Looking down at his wrists, he saw that his right wrist was bare, but his left still had his wrist comp, although there was now an additional band of metal around it preventing him from accessing any of the functions. The mesh suit that had once adorned his body had been removed, rendering him unable to cloak, and leaving him susceptible to any temperature variations. He knew instantly that his medical kit and every last one of his many weapons had been taken from him by the cowardly oomans. At least they had left his bands of prowess on his tendrils, and his mask. That was something at least.

Looking around, Takaa saw nearly a hundred of the oomans below observing him, and he clicked his mandibles in annoyance. There was an alcove that seemed to be another room. In it, he could see several oomans tinkering with some of his gear, as well as the body of the bad blood that he'd killed. Remembering the location of the room, he looked around to see what else was nearby. That was when he saw it. Another cage like the one he was in, except this one held something that he instantly knew was not an ooman. It looked ooman in shape, but the brilliant white coloration detected by his heat sensing eyes told him that the creature had a body temperature that was even higher than his own. Such a high temperature might be caused by some form of sickness though. He saw the creature looking at him, and noticed the yellow coloring of the fluid that was draining from its eyes. Tears. That's what the fluid was, but he didn't know what had caused those tears, and more, he didn't care. He knew that oomans shed them because of pain, whether physical or emotional, they were still caused by pain. The creature continued to watch him with those tears running down its face, and he irritably wondered why it couldn't think of something better to do.

With a shake of his head, he looked back at the oomans. In spite of their caution, he knew that eventually, these oomans would make a mistake, and when they did; they would learn the reason why he was considered to be one of the most dangerous Arbitrators in existence.

Much like the occupant of the other cage, Takaa knew that there wasn't anything to do except bide his time and wait. That was what he did. Then, after several ooman hours as measured by his mask, the two cages were lowered and food was pushed into the cages by a mechanical arm. A small bowl of water, and a small pile of raw meat sat on a thick heavy tray. He tried to lift the tray to see if it could possibly be used as a weapon to escape, but it was set in tracked grooves in the floor. The bowl of water was secured to the tray by a thick strong cable, so he couldn't use that either. Frustrated, but deciding to maintain his strength and bide his time, he consumed the meat and water. He noticed as he ate that the creature, now revealed as a female of some type, was ravenously devouring the food that had been provided. A short while after he ate he became sleepy, and promptly realized that the food and water had been drugged. A look at the female in the other cage showed that hers had been similarly contaminated. Helpless rage filled his mind as his body succumbed to the ooman drugs before he slipped into unconsciousness.

He awoke in a new room. This one was adjoined to that of the female he'd seen earlier by a transparent wall of some type, and now he was able to get a better look at her. _'Definitely not ooman.'_ He thought as he took note of the deadly claws on the tips of the fingers and toes, along with the incredible number of surgical scars and strange color patterns on the skin that showed up even to his heat sensitive eyes. The female stirred and rose to a sitting position before looking around. The eyes of the female widened upon spotting him, and the creature stood to better observe him.

'_Definitely female.'_ Takaa thought as he noted the complete lack of clothing on the body of the creature looking him over. The computer in his mask told him that the female was only about four nok in height. Small though the female was, the oomans obviously wanted her for something or she wouldn't be a prisoner like himself. He noticed then, that the female was still staring at him. He was about to growl in irritation at being studied in such a manner when a slight noise from one wall of the female's cage caught his attention. A small door had opened, and something was entering her cage.

Takaa felt his blood run cold as he saw the large slime encrusted oval shape that was being moved in with the female by another of those mechanical arms. He issued a mental command to his mask to begin recording as he recognized the egg from a Kainde Amedha. Then, to his horror, he realized that the room, which served as a cage, was too small to allow the female to avoid triggering it. A glance at the female showed that she had merely tilted her head in seeming confusion. He watched in raging silence as four petal-like flaps opened in the top of the egg, and the creature inside climbed up to rest briefly on one of them. Almost as fast as he could blink, the face hugger launched itself through the air and attached itself to the female. It seemed to take forever before the female finally faltered and fell to the floor as the face hugger began its infestation of the female's body. The face hugger didn't stay attached to the female for very long, and that alone told him of the strength possessed by the small female. Face huggers only took a long time with weaker hosts, but with a strong one, they were able to perform their life's purpose much more quickly.

With its sole purpose complete, the face hugger detached from the female and crawled off to die. It was still twitching in the midst of its death throws when the female began to regain her consciousness. Takaa gaped in disbelief when he saw this. Truly, this female had _very _impressive strength in order to regain consciousness so quickly. He watched with mounting anger as the female moved quickly, but cautiously away from the still twitching face hugger. Then, the females attention was on the corners of the ceiling and floor of the room, and she was obviously tensed and ready for something. Within a brief moment what seemed like hundreds of small doors less than half a nok wide opened up before the same tranquilizer darts that had enabled the cowardly oomans to capture him where coming in a crossfire from both the corners of the floor and the ceiling of the room. The female had obviously encountered this before because although she tried to avoid the countless darts by jumping towards one of the walls, she was still hit by more than a few of the darts. That was when he noticed that she had protected her eyes and face from being hit.

Takaa growled in anger at the treatment that this strange female was facing. Somehow, the creature had heard his growl and quickly moved away from him even though her hands were busy plucking more than a dozen of the darts out of her body and limbs. The female's movements were rapidly growing sluggish and uncoordinated from the drug contained in the darts, and Takaa knew that she would soon be helpless for whatever these pauk-de oomans planned.

To the female's credit, Takaa watched her valiant but futile efforts to continue to fight the effects of the drug. He uttered soft words of encouragement to the female, and he was sure that she had heard some of them, but he was all too aware that she'd been hit by even more of those cowardly darts than the oomans had used on him during his capture! Watching in a near blind rage, Takaa was powerless to intervene with what was taking place in the cell next to his. The female sagged against the far wall as she struggled to stay on her feet. Even though he'd never met this female, and knew almost nothing about her, the Yautja Arbitrator couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride, as he became a witness to the heroic defiance against impossible odds and an inevitable outcome. Then, he knew that the drugs had taken full effect, and that the female had somehow managed to stay on her feet while propped against the corner of her cell. Takaa nearly started laughing at the ingenuity of the female when a door opened along one wall and several oomans entered with a long table, a small table, and some wrapped bundles of equipment.

As old as he was, Takaa knew the ooman language of this area fairly well, and as an Arbitrator, his mask could translate anything that he didn't understand. This turned out to be of enormous benefit as the oomans proceeded with what they were doing.

"You… get that dead bug out of here! The rest of you get Specimen 2313 on the table. I'm not sure how much time we've got before that little bug is ready, and I want it harvested long before then."

"What if she wakes up, Doctor?"

"It's already awake you idiot! Those darts are filled with a nerve toxin that only paralyzes volitional movement. Specimen 2313 is fully aware of everything that's going on in here. Not that it matters to an animal anyway. Now, get that thing on the table so I can start the harvesting procedure."

Takaa wasn't sure if he understood the ooman correctly, so he settled himself down to watch what they were doing. Two of the oomans placed the female on the table, and another made a quick wipe of the female's chest and abdomen with some type of cleansing solution. Almost immediately, the ooman in charge was cutting the female open. He watched in mounting anger as the flesh of the females chest was deliberately cut open, with blood pouring from the resulting wound. Then another of the tools was picked up. Takaa didn't know what that thing was, but it most certainly didn't look pleasant.

Suddenly, the Arbitrator was staring in disgusted fascination even while he cringed at the loud cracking and snapping sound that was made as the female's ribcage was forcibly broken open by the strange tool. He glanced at the female's face, which was turned towards him. He wasn't sure what drew his attention, but he thought that it might have been some sound. That was when he became aware of the soft whimpering sound emerging from the mouth of the female. His mandibles went slack beneath his mask, his blood ran cold, and he staggered some as he realized in horror that the female was _completely_ aware of what was being done to her, and was even able to _feel_ it!

That was when he felt a hot deadly rage such as he'd never experienced before fill his soul even as every fiber of his very being was flooded with it. Takaa roared in a pure hellish rage that would have given Cetanu himself pause to consider his actions. The oomans on the other side of the transparent wall were undaunted by his unearthly roars and growls.

"Just wait your turn, ugly. We'll be getting to you soon enough." One of the oomans told him as he continued to rail at them for the dishonor they were heaping upon a helpless female. Takaa swore then, that when he finally escaped this place that he would return with many Arbitrators to exact a full measure of justice upon these cowards.

The oomans continued to cut and tear at the flesh of the hapless female while he could do nothing but watch. He could see the pain and torment in the expression of the female's face while the cowardly oomans did this to her. Then, he was staring in a strange mixture of rage and relief as the ooman in charge pulled an immature chest buster from the female and encased it in a cage of its own.

He was more than half convinced that these oomans were just going to let the female die from what they had so cowardly wreaked upon her. That was why he was surprised to see that they were actually closing her up. The ooman in charge left two of the others to perform the suturing, while he and the others left with the still living hard meat.

"Don't get any ideas. Just keep your hands to yourself. You don't want to know what happened to the last guy that got a bright idea involving this Specimen."

"Yeah? What'd they do? Use him as a host for one of the bugs?"

"Nope, he got the bright idea of using the darts to paralyze her, then he came in and sodomized her. What he didn't realize was that the whole damned place is under video surveillance constantly. The higher ups began starving her while they added appetite stimulants to her water. _Lots_ of appetite stimulants. After a couple weeks, they stripped him down; broke his arms and legs, and then they cut him a couple of times to make sure he was bleeding really good, before they threw him in with her."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Simple. After starving under those conditions for that long, well... she was damned hungry, and the only thing they've ever fed her is raw bloody meat, so guess how she thought of him then? It was more than an hour before he finally died screaming."

"Took her that long to kill him? With those claws?"

"Nope. It took him that long to die while she ate him alive. But then, you or me would have done the same thing under those circumstances. Some of our tests have proven that as well."

"So why'd he butt fuck her? Why not just get a regular piece of ass if he was going to do it that way?"

"Easy, he thought they'd never know. Her hymen is intact, and that gets checked regularly. Apparently, someone high up has something special in mind for it. Hell, it might even involve old big dumb and double ugly over there."

Takaa growled and lunged at the cowardly oomans after being insulted in such a blatant fashion. He was pleased to see that in spite of the transparent wall that he couldn't break, that both of the pathetic oomans jumped in alarm. With a satisfied and smirky set to his mandibles, he stood and watched as the oomans began behaving nervously. Once they were done closing the female's chest, they did something else that enraged the Yautja Arbitrator. They simply dumped the paralyzed but still very alert female on the floor of the cell to leave her in the large puddle of her own blood before they left.


	2. Chapter 2

What Does Honor Really Mean 2

Once the oomans had left, and the door was closed; Takaa looked down at the female, and began purring deep in his chest. He could _see_ the agony written all over the female's expression, and being unable to give her any pain blockers, he did the only thing he could to help her. Whatever she was... didn't really matter at this point. They were both being held by the cowardly oomans, and that alone made her a possible ally. But considering what they had just done to the female, he knew that he would have to at least try to get her out when he made his escape. He wasn't sure if he would have to kill the female or not, because after what he'd just heard, he couldn't be sure if she was even sentient, but he would deal with that problem when it arrived. For right now, the only thing he could do was try to keep the female calm, and the only way he could do that was by purring, so that was what he did.

He'd been maintaining his deep rumbling purr for more than an hour as the natives measured time, before the female began to stir with slow and pained movements. Although he was fluent in the ooman language, he wasn't about to reveal that ability to them, so he refrained from speaking since the female obviously wouldn't understand Yautja, and purred instead.

The movements of the female told the entire story of how just much severe pain she was in as she levered herself into a sitting position and used her feet to push herself up against a wall of the cell to let that wall support her body weight. He could see her silent struggle as she labored to take each agonizing breath. Ribs that had been forcibly broken open only an hour before flexed every time she inhaled or exhaled, and each flex of those ribs caused her to grimace in pain. When he saw the female look over at him, Takaa purred louder to reassure her. His effort seemed to help some, and once more, he had to admit to himself that he was impressed with the female's determination to survive. The female continued her shallow breathing as exhaustion slowly overcame her and she fell into a light and troubled sleep.

Takaa squatted down to wait and see if this female would survive what had been done to her. After having her chest broken open in such a brutal even if surgical fashion, her survival seemed doubtful, and if nothing else, he would not allow her to feel alone and abandoned if the Dark Hunter did claim her. He kept up his vigil for a couple of hours before the female stirred because of the discomfort.

The female looked over at him as if surprised that he was still there. Takaa dipped his head as a form of both greeting, and to show a measure of the respect that she had earned from him simply by enduring the dishonorable actions that was being perpetrated against her. She tilted her head slightly to the right as she gazed at him for a brief moment. Then the female closed her eyes and forced herself to breath deeply in spite of the obvious pain. Takaa switched the visual mode of his battle mask and examined the rib cage of the female. He could see that the breastbone was firmly attached to the left side of the rib cage, but the right side ribs hadn't been seated properly against the breastbone. Such a simple thing. A firm pressure against the right side of her chest to force those ribs back into their proper place and it would be much less painful for her to breath. That was something that would need to be corrected if the chance ever arose.

The sound of a door sliding open at the front of her cell drew attention from both of them. Takaa roared in pure fury at the now blatant dishonor of the cowardly _insects_ that dared to do such things to a helpless and weaponless female. In raging disbelief, he stared at the hard meat egg that was being moved by a machine into the cell of the female. With an effort, he tore his gaze from the egg back to the female to see her getting to her feet with an expression of grim determination on her face.

'_Good! That's it! If you must die, then at least try to die fighting!'_ Takaa thought proudly as he watched the female glare at the opening egg.

When the face hugger launched itself at the female, Takaa was stunned into near stupefaction by the impossible speed with which the female moved. Her hands flashed out in a blur of speed and caught the creature before it could entangle her. Then the female threw it against a wall of her cell and he watched it hit the door with a loud wet smack that was hard enough to kill the dangerous beast instantly. He started clicking in laughter at how the female had deftly avoided this second face hugger, and he became certain that she'd never seen one before her previous encounter, or she'd have done this then.

His laughter was cut short when the small door opened again and two eggs were moved into the room. His blood ran cold as he realized that the females luck had finally run out. The oomans were now going to kill her. If the emerging chest buster didn't kill her, then the surgery to remove it surely would.

Suddenly the Arbitrator roared with delight as the female ducked beneath the two lunging face huggers to grab their tails and fling them away from her. One hit the door in almost the same spot as the first, but much harder, and the second was sent smashing against the transparent wall near the front corner of her cell. No sooner had those two been dealt with, then two more eggs were moved into to the cell with the female. He watched in mounting anger as more eggs kept coming. Each time the female hurled the face huggers away from her, and each time the oomans sent in more eggs. Then four eggs were moved into her cell at once. One of them opened immediately and the face hugger met the same fate as the others. Then two opened, followed by the fourth. Takaa was shaking his head in silent disbelieving denial at the futile struggle he was witness to, because he knew that there was no way the female could fend off three of them at the same time.

At first, the luck of Paya had seemed as if it would be with the strange female as the three face huggers launched themselves one at a time, but in rapid succession. The female was successful in throwing the two beasts against the walls of her cell, but her incredible speed seemed to fail her because she wasn't fast enough to prevent the last from latching onto her. Although she had the body of the face hugger in a firm grasp at arms length, that long and powerful tail had wrapped around her neck and would eventually suffocate her into unconsciousness. With simply breathing being as painful as it was, Takaa knew that the female's time and luck had run out. Desperate to look anywhere but at the incredible struggle of the female's futile attempt to survive, he saw that the transparent wall that separated them was damaged. In disbelief, he quickly examined the rest of the female's cell. Every last one of those face huggers had been ruptured when they hit the walls. Their acidic body fluids were doing the typical damage to the material that was touched by them.

Suddenly Takaa knew what had to be done. He didn't pause to think about it; he acted. Slamming his powerful body against the transparent wall that held him separate from the female, he heard it crack. A second slam with his full weight and power behind it broke the damaged area, and he was in the room with the female! Moving as quick as he possibly could, he regained his feet and ran to the weakening female to unwrap the tail from around her throat. As soon as he had the tail unwrapped, the female gasped for breath. Her lack of life giving air didn't stop her from acting as she hurled the creature away from her with deadly force. Takaa quickly pulled the female to her feet and lunged at the now severely weakened door to her cell. Hitting the door to the female's cell in a running kick, Takaa allowed his acid resistant boots to break through the weakened material. Then, he turned back to the female and picked her up to carry her through the acid filled doorway.

Takaa would have stopped to put the female on the floor so that she might assist in their escape. But then he saw that nearly thirty eggs were waiting outside her cell. Several were starting to open now that he and the female were sensed by the occupants, so he kept moving to get away from them. Injured as she was, and still trying to regain her breath from her valiant fight with far too many face huggers, he decided to let the nearby oomans face them, besides, it would serve them right after what they'd done to the female.

Takaa flared his mandibles in pleasure when he saw that they were now in the large chamber he'd seen earlier when he'd regained consciousness after his capture. Several oomans tried to block his path as he ran towards the far side of the chamber where he'd seen the alcove. In a rage, he used his left arm to knock them aside, not caring in the least that he was putting enough power in his strikes to break their necks. He set the female down as the door to the smaller room opened. He knew that this was the room in which he'd seen his gear. He stepped into the room followed by the female. He immediately saw that he was in luck, they were still there! All of his weapons and gear were sitting right next to those of the bad blood. But, before he could properly equip himself, he would need to deal with the seven oomans in the room.

With a thunderous roar of delight, he moved forward and grabbed the nearest by the face with his right hand. A massive surge of strength flowed through him as he thought of the indignities that he'd seen heaped upon the female behind him. That strength became obvious as he hefted the ooman to a level that was even with his own face before hurling the pathetic creature to his right. He was well pleased with the sounds of snapping vertebra that accompanied his move. It merely told him that he'd broken the oomans neck while throwing it.

Takaa was about to challenge the rest of the oomans at the top of his lungs, when one of them ran almost straight at him. He didn't even think as his left hand rose in a slash that tore the oomans face off with his claws. The ooman male went down screaming in agony, but he didn't care. He stepped forward to face the other five oomans, and even though none of them had weapons and three were female, he never hesitated. They had demonstrated their dishonor, and that was when he realized that his mask was still recording. That was good, because it would prove that the bad blood had been dispatched, and that the female had earned sanctuary, even if she wasn't allowed to present herself as a warrior.

His mandibles flared in delight at the thought that he didn't have to allow any of these oomans to live, since he was just as unarmed as they were. He lashed out with his fists and held nothing in reserve. The bones of the first shattered with a sickening crunch as his right fist smashed into the oomans face. Not even a scream was heard as that one went down. The second male didn't fare much better as a powerful backhand blow from his left hand turned the ooman's head completely around to face its own back. That left the three females.

Takaa moved forward to kill all three of them. Being female, he dispatched them quickly with crushing blows to their heads. With the room now clear of any possible opponents save for the female, he looked around carefully. He found all of the weapons and gear laid out carefully as if on display. But then he growled in disgust as he spotted the mangled and destroyed remains of the mesh suits. Not just his, but that which had belonged to the bad blood had also been destroyed by cutting it off the body. He quickly gathered all of his weapons and put the rest of his armor on. That was when he noticed the nearly destroyed wrist computer on the body of his dead opponent. He knew that because of the damage, he couldn't use it for the self-destruct that it contained.

A slight growl from the female caught his attention and made him focus on her for a moment. He saw that she was looking down at a small table, but he didn't see anything on it. He quickly began cycling through the various visual modes of his mask, and saw the dead face hugger that the female was glaring at. Mandibles clicking in a slight laugh, Takaa walked over and lifted the dead creature up to look at it. Then he put it back down and deftly snapped one of its legs off. He squeezed a small amount of blood onto the dead creatures back and then used the claw that he'd dipped in that acid to score the additional band of metal sealing his wrist computer. Dropping the face hugger's leg, Takaa started pulling on the metal so that as soon as the acid had weakened it, he was removing the improvised seal. Using his now unsealed wrist comp to check the location of his ship, he saw that it was a long distance away from his current location. He would need to travel quite a distance to meet up with it, and for that, he would need his wrist comp, so he couldn't use it to destroy this place. Turning back to the dead body, Takaa activated a hidden tracking signal in the damaged wrist computer of the bad blood that would allow him to return and complete the destruction of this facility at a later time.

The Arbitrator flared his mandibles in a grin as he took the plasma caster from the dead bad blood and affixed it on the opposite shoulder of his own. Then he activated his wrist comp, and calibrated them both to the targeting system in his mask. Deciding to leave nothing behind for the oomans to study, he took the awu'asa and weapons of the dead Yautja along with his own. The armor made for a small burden, but the weight was negligible, and easily ignored. Even though he couldn't cloak without a mesh suit, he still had the equipment that he needed, and he was ready to deal with the oomans and make an escape.

She watched the other curiously as it started putting some of the strange things on its body. She was glad that the hated ones hadn't gotten the chance to hurt this other the way they'd so often done to her. She had seen how easily this other had hurt them, and the only thing that kept her from being afraid that it would hurt her, was that this other had helped her. A sensation of fear flashed through her mind as she recalled how one of those things had cut off her air so she couldn't breath. She knew that the hated ones had put it in the room with her. She then remembered how everything was starting to go black when this other had taken the piece of that thing from around her throat so she could breath again. Breathing still hurt, but she was used to pain, because that was the only thing the hated ones had ever allowed her to feel. Pain from hunger, pain from thirst, pain from the times they cut her open, and pain from the many other things they did to her. The only thing that was different now, was that this other had taken her out of the room. She still had pain, but this other was making the hated ones hurt now.

Never before, had she been out of the rooms that the hated ones kept her in, but she was out of them now. She didn't know what to do, or where she was supposed to go, but she thought that this other might know such things.

"I... stay... with... you...?"

Takaa turned and stared in disbelief as the female made an obviously struggling effort to form the ooman speech. What really surprised him was that she apparently had even more trouble speaking that language than even a Yautja did. Every sound she made was more of a soft guttural growl than a spoken word, and he watched her head move awkwardly as she fought to make herself understood.

"Yes. So long as you do not interfere with our escape from this place, then you can stay with me. Do you speak ooman?" Takaa warned seriously.

"I... know... words... hurt... say... them..."

"But you do understand ooman?" He asked seriously.

"Yes..."

"Good. Can you fight?" Takaa asked her eagerly.

The Arbitrator tightened his mandibles in a frown as the female merely looked at him in obvious confusion.

"Can you do what I did to them?" He asked pointing at the now dead oomans.

"Not... know... how..."

Takaa growled in irritation at that. "Then stay behind me and do not interfere. If you try to stop me from killing _any_ of them, I will kill you. Do you understand?"

"Yes..." She answered as fast as she was able to form the word. Whoever or whatever this other was, it was going to hurt more of the hated ones, and wanted her to stay behind it. She could do that, and she would be careful not to do anything to give this one a reason to hurt her.

Knowing that they had to be running short on time, Takaa turned to leave the room, but paused before he opened the door. He looked back at the female for a brief moment, before he stepped over to the body of the deceased bad blood and stripped the loincloth off the body. Even though neither the armor or the under cloth would fit the female, the belt could be adjusted to at least provide her with some measure of modesty and self-respect by giving her a covering for her genitals.

"Come. You will wear this." Takaa instructed her.

The female looked at him in confusion even though she obeyed his instructions. Once the female was close enough, he handed her the loincloth, and she merely looked at it stupidly.

The Arbitrator growled angrily as he snatched the loincloth from the female's hands and knelt down to put it around her waist. He knew that time was not only running short, but had to be running out as well.

"If you do _anything_ else to slow me down, and prevent me from escaping from this place, I will kill you! Do you understand me?" Takaa snarled in a barely controlled hiss of rage.

The sickly sweet stench of fresh fear from the female was thick and pungent as she made her answer. Takaa growled in anger once more before he turned and opened the door. The sight of many oomans scrambling to avoid the now loose face huggers was more than a little amusing. There were only three of them left that hadn't latched onto an ooman host. That was good. There were fewer oomans and face huggers to deal with now.


	3. Chapter 3

What does Honor Really Mean 3

_**Author's notes: First I would like to thank those who have reviewed this story… "Thank You very, very much!" Second, bree51, I'm very glad that you like this story so much, I would have sent you a PM in reply, but you didn't log in, and FFN hasn't got a clue as to where to find your profile. Third, Waiter… I (THINK) that I found your profile, but I'm not exactly sure on that one. Hopefully I'll find out soon. I try to send a response to each, and EVERY review through PM… I can't do that with an Anon though. Not that I mind Guest reviews, because there have certainly been a few times that I've been too lazy to log in myself. It just means that I have a much harder time thanking you directly.**_

Moving swiftly, but cautiously, Takaa set his wrist computer to scan the surrounding structure to provide him with some kind of map, and a means of exit. The thunderous report of an ooman weapon caught his attention. He turned to see an ooman guard shooting at one of the face huggers that was still searching for a host. Instantly, Takaa brought his targeting sensors up, and fired at the ooman. The Arbitrator laughed as the ooman's head exploded in a massive spray of fresh hot blood that completely drenched the surrounding area. He watched the body of the now headless ooman remain standing for a brief moment before it fell lifeless to the ground in a growing pool of its own blood.

Takaa made his way straight ahead towards a door that appeared to have some type of ooman security measures on it. Considering that this had to be some type of secret facility, he figured that it must lead towards an exit. The plasma caster on his right shoulder fired and a flash of hurtling blue energy blasted the door apart killing several oomans who were trying in vain to get to door open so they could escape the nightmare taking place around them. He mostly ignored the agonized screams and cries of the oomans who had survived the door's explosion, but he did check to ensure that they were going to die from their injuries. He ejected the blades on his right wrist, and laid open the stomach of one ooman male who didn't seem to be as badly injured as the others were. Then, leaving them to die slowly from their injuries, the Arbitrator left the room.

There was a long hallway on the other side of the now shattered door, and he was well pleased by the sight of six mangled bodies on the blood and gore covered floor that had been killed while trying to barricade that door.

'_Such stupid creatures! They should have entered and fought the face huggers with honor like warriors.'_ He thought to himself with disgust.

He jogged down the length of the hallway, his long, powerful legs carrying him swiftly to its end, and rounded the corner to find a double handful of ooman guards trying to set up a containment barrier that they could use as protection while firing. First the left, and then the right plasma casters mounted on his shoulders fired in quick succession. The result was the complete destruction of the barrier along with many parts and pieces of bloody ooman bodies flying through the air. Takaa advanced rapidly on the position that the oomans had intended to hold, and saw that there was yet another door that led to a second hallway. This one consisted of what were apparently small office spaces and research stations. Growling in frustration at the fact that there was no obvious exit available, he kicked the door apart with his right foot and stepped through. An irregular noise behind him caught his attention and he turned to see the female struggling to follow him.

Her breathing was shallow and ragged as she was bent nearly double in an effort to catch her breath while still attempting to follow him. He also saw that some of the primitive sutures had torn open and that she was now bleeding. That was when he realized that she wouldn't be able to keep up with him in her current state. He snarled silently as he turned back towards her.

She had followed behind this other one as fast as she was able to move, but her legs weren't nearly as long, and her chest hurt and throbbed horribly with each breath she tried to take. Her mind whirled in a disbelieving mix of emotions as she saw the way that the other one was hurting the hated ones. Never had she even dreamed that such a thing could be possible, and she didn't want to miss seeing even so much as a single individual of the hated ones get hurt. She didn't know the words for revenge, or malice, but that was exactly what she felt and craved. If for no other reason than to see the hated ones receive a small part of the pain they had given her, she struggled to follow the other.

She could almost feel the other a good distance ahead of her, and she knew that she was falling behind. Her legs had begun to burn from her effort long ago, because she had never traveled this far on her own feet in her entire life. Now both her legs, and her lungs were burning, and her chest was losing more of that fluid that she knew was her blood. With as much agony as she was in, she still noted with satisfaction that it wasn't the same color as that of the hated ones. Then she was unable to move any farther. No matter how much she wanted to be away from the hated ones, she couldn't push past the feeling of legs that didn't want to move, and lungs that felt as if she couldn't breath. She bent over from the pain and fought just to take another aching breath. Looking up at where the other had gone to hurt more of the hated ones, she saw him coming back towards her. She felt her blood run cold as she remembered this other saying that she would be killed if she caused the other to be slowed down in any way. Being hurt by the hated ones was one thing, but she did _not_ want to die!

Her green eyes widened in terror, and she fought to explain. "No... die... I… not... want... die..." She barely ground out just before her legs gave way beneath her.

Even as keen as his hearing was, Takaa could barely hear the whispered words of the clearly terrified female. She had struggled to get them out right before collapsing. Cycling through his visual nodes in his mask, he saw that her heart was racing and pounding in her chest as if she'd run for two solid days. Even as he strode angrily towards her, he could see the muscles in her legs trembling from an apparent strain that had been placed on them. He stopped and knelt down next to her. As angry as he was, he knew that he would not have this opportunity to escape had it not been for this female's incredible battle against impossible odds, and his honor demanded that he now assist her in getting out of this place.

"When was the last time you had your freedom?" He asked irritably as he moved behind the female.

"What... freedom... is...?"

At first, he'd thought that she simply didn't understand his question. _'What if she doesn't know what freedom is?'_ The Arbitrator felt his blood run cold at that question as the incredibly disturbing thought struck him.

As much as he dreaded one possible answer, he _had_ to know. "Have you ever been out of those rooms?"

"No..."

'_H'chak-de Paya! No wonder she can't keep up!'_ He thought as a cold burning rage settled in his veins.

"Hold still. What I am going to do, will hurt, but you will be able to breath better afterwards." Takaa told the female as he placed his large hand on the right side of her chest.

The Arbitrator took no notice of the fact that he had to place his large hand directly on the female's right breast in order to do what needed to be done, and truth be told, he wouldn't have cared if he _had_ noticed. As it was, literally _half_ of the female's ribcage was dislocated from her sternum, and even if those bones didn't have to move while she breathed, they would still hurt, so he knew that just breathing would be excruciating to her. That coupled with a strenuous run to escape, a run that he was now sure she had no strength or endurance for, and he knew that he had asked the impossible from her. Adjusting the vision mode in his mask, he cycled through until he could see the female's ribs. Then, with a series of strong pushes using the pads of his fingers against the ends of the ribs, he forced them back into place with a loud popping sound as a result.

Takaa knew that he'd been successful when the female released a loud whimper of pain after his effort. Not wanting any further stops during his escape, he was about to get to his feet when his left arm started tingling from the silent vibration of his wrist computer. He looked at it eagerly, and saw that it had used a multitude of sensor readings to retrieve a map of the structure that held him. He studied the map avidly, before transferring a copy to his mask. Now that he knew which path he needed to take, he could make much better time. The female on the other hand, would never be able to keep up. Knowing that he could not in honor, abandon her to the oomans, and leave her to be dishonorably killed by them, he scooped her up in his arms, and was slightly surprised by how little the female weighed.

"Remain still, and do not struggle. I do not wish to leave you here, but I will if I must!"

The female in his arms placed her hands on top of the borrowed loincloth and went absolutely still. The sole movement from her was the still ragged breathing as she fought to catch her breath. She did however turn her head to her right to watch where he was heading. Now that he had an exit route, Takaa wasted no time. He started for the exit with the plasma casters on both shoulders armed, primed, and ready to fire.

Something was wrong. He knew it, but he couldn't put a claw on exactly what it was. He was passing ooman desks, offices, and even what he swore were security checkpoints as he headed for the exit, but there were no more oomans to be found or killed. He couldn't help but wonder why.

"Why don't you just stop right there big boy? Put Specimen 2313 on the floor, and we'll let you walk out of here. That specimen, on the other hand, stays with us. We made it; we keep it. In fact, we even created that thing's mother, and the two of them have cost us quite a lot of money."

Takaa knew that the ooman voice was originating from some of the overhead speakers, but that didn't bother him in the least. Now he knew why he'd seen no oomans. The cowards were busy setting up an ambush at the exit point. A grin of pure predatory delight and cunning crossed his face at the thought. Then he decided to see if he could taunt some information out of this conspicuously absent ooman.

"Why; so you can kill her? I can think of a much better use for her than that, ooman." Takaa answered haughtily.

"You have it _all_ wrong alien! We've spent _billions_ of dollars on the creation of that animal, so there is no _way_ that we'd run the risk of killing it. So do us both a favor, and accept my offer. Besides, that animal isn't even intelligent, and you won't be getting out of here with it. You have _no_ idea what we went through to create that thing. Do you know that we had to use artificial insemination to create its mother, who was only half-human and half your species? _It_ however, is a genetic conglomeration of rattlesnake, cobra, tiger, cheetah, wolf, and those big ugly bugs for a father. That's in addition to what the mother was. Two years in a lab just to splice the DNA together to create the semen, and then more than a full year of pregnancy by the mother, and now after spending thirteen years and billions of dollars on the development of that specimen, do you think that we'd just let you walk out with it? Not a God-damned _chance_! So, here's the deal. You put her down, and we let you leave." The voice replied smugly.

The Arbitrator felt the female stiffen in his arms and once again smelled her pungent sickly sweet scent of pure terror. He flexed his right hand to give her arm a light squeeze as a signal for her to remain silent, because now that he knew she was at least _part_ Yautja, he had no intention of leaving her behind for any reason. The other thing that convinced him to ensure that the oomans weren't allowed to keep the female was that the voice kept referring to her as a _thing_! Rage burned through him at the mere thought of such disrespect.

"Why should I believe the words of a coward that would harm a female?" Takaa demanded in anger.

"Why? Because that's that best deal you're going to get. It's also my only and last offer. Put it _down_ and leave! If you don't then the two hundred guards at the _only_ exit to this facility will gun you down like the animal you carry!"

A snarling growl of anger rose unbidden from his throat at being ordered around like some unblooded pup! As angry as he was, the Arbitrator declined to say anything in response as he made his way through the now vacated structure. Silently fuming at the audacity of the ooman behind the voice, he checked the map against his location, and saw that he was near an outside wall.

Now _that_ was something that served to improve his mood! _'Let the pathetic ooman make his worthless offers. I will return to deal with him later!'_ Takaa thought as his mandibles flared and twitched in glee. He turned to face the outside wall and began firing both of the shoulder mounted plasma casters. In less a second, there was a gaping hole where the wall had been. No longer moving cautiously or with any kind of stealth to avoid alerting the oomans, Takaa began running full out.

His long and powerful legs were pumping steadily as they swiftly propelled him across the grounds of the facility where he'd been held captive. He could readily see that this area was mountainous desert, and was far from the ooman city where he had been hunting the bad blood whose life had been forfeit after dishonorably killing the Matriarch of his own clan.

Takaa could hear the sudden and loud blare of alarms as he moved in a dead run across the floor of the small valley. From the short conversation that he'd had, he knew that these oomans were going to be far more than angry, and that was perfectly fine with him. If what he'd learned was true, then the female in his arms was part Yautja, and that by itself entitled her to his aid. That wasn't even counting the fact that he would not have been able to escape this easily or quickly had it not been for the way she had fought past what he knew was an incredibly painful injury to kill many face huggers and damage both of their cells along with the door to hers. Add in the female's Yautja heritage, and there was now no way that he was going to leave her to these cowardly oomans! He pushed himself even harder to run faster as the ground began to rise at the base of the mountain.

The Arbitrator knew that the mostly barren landscape would make hiding from these oomans difficult at best. For now, the best he could do was to gain a height advantage, so he could kill any pursuers, then, once he had a break, he could worry about finding cover for the two of them. Once the immediate chase was over, he could contact his ship and inform them of the situation, after that, well, these oomans would learn what a ship full of Arbitrators could do when given cause to act.

A rock shattered slightly to the right and ahead of him just before he heard the sound of the ooman's weapon. Takaa growled angrily at their cowardice. Long-range weapons were for cleansing, not hunting, but soon it wouldn't matter, there were large boulders about two hundred nok ahead that would make perfect cover from which to slaughter these cowardly oomans. More shots rang out, as he got closer to his intended standpoint. The shouts of the oomans were far below and well behind him, and that told him that he'd gained plenty of distance from them. _'Good; that only makes them much easier to kill.'_ He thought with satisfaction.

Ducking behind the rocks, Takaa set the female down. "Wait here and do not move, while I deal with the oomans."

Takaa then peered around the left side of the rocks to get a target acquisition lock on the oomans who were approaching as fast as they could. There were close to fifty of them that he could see while cycling through the visual modes of his battle mask. They were spread out in ten groups of five men each, and even without his mask, he would have seen them because their body temperature was lower than the surrounding ground.

Three bars lined up and flashed in his mask, showing that he had a positive lock on the nearest group of oomans. First the right and then the left shoulder mounted plasma casters fired, and the air was soon filled with the agonized screams of the two oomans who survived the blasts. He zoomed in to get a better look at them to see if another set of shots were needed. His mandibles flared in a menacing grin when he saw that one was now missing its lower legs, and that the other had one leg missing entirely. Both were losing blood, and would soon die without aid from the other oomans. Aid that Takaa was not willing to let them receive.

Choosing his next shot with care, the Arbitrator snarled silently as he fired his left plasma caster sending the bolt of heated energy plasma into the chest of the lead ooman. The other four staggered as they were hit with the now splattered and gory remains of their former team leader. Bullets spanged off the rocks nearby as the other teams tried to cover those under fire, but Takaa paid their weapons no heed. Instead he targeted the ground in front of the men who were now drenched in their leader's blood and gore. His right plasma caster hurtled the blue bolt of sizzling energy plasma down to impact right where it was aimed. The ground exploded in front of the men. Dirt, small rocks, and gravel became deadly flying shrapnel that lacerated skin, shredded muscles, and shattered bones among the group. In seconds, they were rolling and screaming in their agony from wounds that would not be immediately fatal.

To a casual observer, it might seem that the Arbitrator was being merciful. But the reality was that he was being anything but. He was deliberately creating and inflicting wounds among the oomans that would let them survive for a while before they died, because he wanted them to suffer for what he had seen them do to the female. As he continued firing, the shots from the ooman weapons slowly came to a halt, and the sharp reports of their weapons had been replaced by tormented screams from their wielders. He zoomed in on them, examining each one to make certain that none were in any condition to move or fight. Satisfied, Takaa turned his attention to the slope of the mountain above to see what other cover might be available.

It seemed that the Gods were not smiling on them at that moment, because the boulder that they were currently using, was the only cover to be seen on this side of the mountain. Then Takaa realized that since the female couldn't run or fight, this side of the mountain would be far too close to the ooman base. He would need to find another location with better shelter and cover.

When the other had put her down and told her to wait, that's exactly what she did. She sat as she always had, with her knees pulled up to her still hurting chest, and rested her chin on them with her hands placed next to her feet. She heard the sounds of what the other was doing, and knew from the screams that this other was hurting more of the hated ones. She listened carefully to each one of the screams, and wondered if they were now hurting as much as they'd made her hurt. The surroundings that she was now in, were radically different from the locked rooms that she was familiar with. She didn't know what to do about anything now; she didn't know what any of the things in her sight were, and she didn't know where she would get food or water now that she was away from the hated ones and that frightened her. The only thing that kept her from trying to return to the familiar rooms of the hated ones was that this other seemed to know what to do.

Takaa picked up the slight but almost constant, scent of fear from the female as he bent down to pick her up. The female was sitting in the same position that she'd been in when he'd first seen her, except that this time there were no tears running down her face.

Takaa snapped his gaze towards the face of the female as if he'd been struck. The realization occurred to him as fast and almost as painfully as a shot from an ooman weapon. The first time that he'd seen the female she had been crying while looking straight at him, and in spite of all the pain he'd seen her endure, not once at any other time had she shed a single tear. Now he understood. He knew why the female had been shedding those tears. She had obviously thought that he would end up suffering the same dishonorable fate that she'd been forced to endure. She had shed those tears for him.

Takaa growled deep in his throat, because the more he knew about this female, the angrier he became. As soon as the sound left him, the female flinched and the scent of her fear became sharper and more pungent. That reaction only served to anger the Arbitrator even more.

"I am not angry at you, little one; only the oomans who held us captive." Takaa told her firmly as he lifted her from the ground.

Once again, the female went lax in his arms and assumed the same position she had earlier. Turning to his left, he began making his way up the side of the mountain. Even though burdened with the female and the armor of a now dead bad blood, the rocky mountainside didn't slow the Yautja down in the slightest as he made his way upwards for another seven thousand nok, before arriving at the crest. Below was another valley, but unlike the one that held the ooman facility, this one had once held a river that was now nearly dry. He could see that the bed was lined with small crags and cliffs. With a little luck, he might be able to find a place that would shelter the two of them from both observation by the oomans and from this planet's weather as well.


	4. Chapter 4

What Does Honor Really Mean 4

He proceeded down the side of the small mountain with ease; moving swiftly but carefully at the same time. Reaching the edge of the cliffs that stood above the riverbed took little time, and he noted with satisfaction that the bottom was covered in gravel. Knowing that it would serve to conceal any trail he might leave, Takaa readily stepped off the edge to make the thirty-foot drop. Powerful thigh muscles absorbed the impact and instantly, the Arbitrator was on the move again, running down the side of the riverbed with a speed that no ooman could match without the use of a vehicle.

This planet's sun had been straight overhead when he'd made his escape, but now it was near the horizon; hovering just above the tops of the bordering mountains. He'd now been running for more than three hours as the oomans measured time, but he knew that he couldn't stop without first finding some type of concealing cover, unless he wanted to risk recapture. Sweat poured from his badly overheating body, and he knew that whether he liked it or not, he would have to stop soon. Without his mesh suit, he had no way to combat the intensely dry heat that was radiating up from the sand, rocks, and cliffs of the surrounding desert, as well as beating down on him from this planet's sun.

Takaa slowed down to a ground-eating pace that was akin to an ooman jog. He was still covering a fair amount of distance in a reasonable amount of time, so he wasn't concerned about that. His concern was that in less than two ooman hours, night would set in, and the temperature would begin to drop rapidly. Without a mesh suit, and still no possible shelter, he sincerely doubted his ability to survive to see the sun rise again.

He gave a slight shake of his head at the possibility of failure. He knew that the female in his arms had never been outside of a cell, and that meant that she would not survive on her own. It was a realization that disgusted him to his core, even as it made his blood burn with rage because two lives were now depending on his strength and skill. He slowed to a walk and began looking around carefully. He was looking for anything that would act as some shelter from the coming temperature drop, as well as from overhead observation by oomans in their machines.

Rounding a bend in the riverbed, Takaa could have sighed in relief at the sight of an overhang. Takaa approached it warily. He knew from his own hard won experience as a hunter, that predators and sometimes even dangerous herbivores preferred to use such places as dens themselves. He set the female down some distance away on the off chance that something got past him.

"Wait here. I will make sure this place is safe to use." He told her.

Immediately the female resumed the same sitting position that he'd seen her use before. It seemed to be an odd position somehow, because something about it didn't seem right, but he couldn't put his claw on it. At any rate, she was doing as instructed, so he turned his attention to the shelf of rock overhanging the riverbed. Moving forward he saw that it wasn't quite as high as the middle of his thigh, which meant that even the female might find it somewhat cramped inside.

The Arbitrator dropped into a low three point crouch, with both plasma casters ready at the lowest power setting, plus his right hand was free to allow him the use of his wrist blades incase they were needed. As he moved into the shadowy area beneath the overhanging rock, he spotted a depression that seemed to lead deeper into the side of the cliff. He could see that the outer area by the tiny river was clear, so he crawled forward to check the deeper point.

Takaa looked around in almost stunned disbelief. The depression went about six nok before opening up into a modest sized, but somewhat chilly cave that curved to his left as it followed the riverbed on the outside of the cliff. While it wasn't actually very large, since he would need to watch his head in some points, it would serve his immediate needs perfectly. Deep enough into the rock that the temperature would remain fairly constant, it was still going to be uncomfortably cold for him. He knew that there was nothing he could do about that though. He cycled through the various modes of vision in his mask and nearly froze as he ejected his wrist blades. An ooman was lying against the back wall of the cave, but didn't even move at the sound of his blades springing forth. Once again, the Yautja cycled his vision, and saw that the ooman was dead. There was no heat to the body other than that of the cave, plus there were several badly broken ribs, a broken thighbone in one leg, and both of the lower bones in the other leg were broken. A quick inhalation told him several things. That there had been a small fire in this cave at some point in the distant past, and that the ooman had most likely been the one to create it. He also smelled the fact that the ooman had been dead for much longer than the female had been alive, and possibly even longer than he'd been serving as an Arbitrator. He flexed his right forearm and retracted his wrist blades.

Checking out the ooman and the spot that the dried corpse occupied, he discovered a bowl, pot, and a cup with a type of coating on it that had prevented rust. Those he could use to retrieve water from the stream, which would limit any exposure while relieving any thirst. Checking the body for weapons, Takaa found a knife, which though small for him, was large enough that it might serve well as a training weapon for the female. Then, slightly to the side, near each of the hands, he spotted the gun belts.

He moved closer and with an almost nostalgic curiosity, pulled one of the weapons from its holster. He quickly recognized it from some of his hunts before he'd become an Arbitrator. The dry desert air hadn't allowed the weapon to rust or corrode, plus the belts were of a type of animal hide that could be salvaged. Then there was a fair abundance of ammunition for the two weapons as well. Takaa took both of the ooman weapons and the knife and placed them in with the armor of the bad blood. Then he looked over the rest of the obviously emergency campsite. He found a modest supply of wood contained in another bag made from animal hide, and flared his mandibles in a slight grin.

He turned and quickly left the cave to return to where he'd left the female. She was sitting exactly as he'd left her, and hadn't moved at all. He had to admit that she followed instructions better than many Youngbloods did. Not once had he heard any type of complaint from her, not even back in the ooman facility, when she hadn't been physically able to keep pace with him. That was good. It was a mark of self-discipline, and boded well for her possible future training.

"Come. We will spend the night in a cave. When the sun rises, we will try to get to my ship." He said as he motioned her to follow him.

The female rose to her feet and moved to follow as he made his way back to the low entrance. He noted that she moved carefully but still winced at the pain caused by the rocks on her bare feet. He dropped down and crawled into the cave before he squatted down to watch her enter. To his surprise, she wasn't actually crawling. She was moving on her hands and feet as if such a thing was completely natural. That was when he saw that her arms were just as long as her legs. _That_ was why her sitting position had looked strange, because of her longer arms! The smooth and graceful fashion in which the female was moving on all four limbs was surprising with her complete lack of training, and he couldn't help but wonder how she would perform after receiving proper training.

As soon as the female entered the small cave, she stood up and waited. Takaa was busy with the moderate amount of wood that the dead ooman had brought in. Within minutes, he had a small fire going in the middle of several large rocks. He knew that the rocks would absorb a lot of the heat from the fire, but would continue to release that heat for several hours after the fire went out. It wasn't the best solution for the coming night, but it was the only one available. Careful rationing of the wood might allow it to last through half the night, but he doubted it. Moving over to the dead ooman, he took the pot, bowl, and cup so he could wash the coating of dust from them in the stream, before filling them with water. At least thirst would be no problem.

"Wait here. I will return with some water." He instructed as he was about to exit.

"Yes..."

Suddenly, he couldn't help but wonder why she didn't just nod her head to signal understanding or answer a simple yes or no question.

"Who helped you learn to speak?" He asked curiously.

"I... watch... learn... speak..." She answered with difficulty.

"Then I will show you something that will make answering some questions easier. Moving your head like this..." Takaa demonstrated. "Means 'yes' and shaking it like this..." He demonstrated again. "Means 'no'. Both of those answers should help some. Now, do you have a name?"

She knew what a name was, and she knew that the hated ones had called her by three deferent things, but the question was, which one was her name? "I... not... know... Hated... ones... call... I... animal... call... I... Specimen... 2... 3... 1... 3... call… I… thing…"

Takaa stared in disbelief. He'd seen earlier that this female was sentient, and had some intelligence, but he hadn't realized just _how_ intelligent she was until that moment. While the speech was broken, the female had used as few of the difficult to form words as possible to convey her meaning. That spoke of a fair amount of intelligence. He wasn't at all surprised by her reference to the oomans as being hated, but he _was_ surprised at just how much of that hatred, how much pure _venom_ she was able to put into the words that she could barely form.

"Those are _not_ names! They are insults, and you will _never_ be called by them again! I will call you Dtou-di'nde." He said with anger at the beginning, but made the final statement lightly.

"What... means... Dtou-di'nde?"

Both of them were surprised by her ability to form the Yautja words with apparent ease. While she had been careful in her pronunciation of the word, she had still said it easily.

"It means 'Little One'." He said simply as he crawled from the cave.

She stood there in silence as she thought about that term. There was something about it that seemed familiar, but she couldn't think of why that was. She did understand why the other would call her little, since she wasn't much taller than the beginning of the covering like the one that had been put on her. Since she was now in a room she'd never seen before, she looked around carefully. Her entire body stiffened in fear at the sight of the hated one that lay against the far wall, but she slowly relaxed as she realized that it was dead. Then there was the strange thing that the other had made. It moved and flickered, while making strange noises that were almost like the noise her chest had made when the hated ones had hurt her that last time. Looking closely at the strange thing that kept moving, she could see it shimmer oddly. Strange things that she could see through rose from it to move through the air before they slowly spread out and disappeared.

A slight sound along with an odd scent that she'd never encountered before caught her attention and she turned to look at the source. There was a another strange thing on the floor of this strange room, but this thing was like a part of those hurting things that she'd had to kill. This whole thing was just like the part that had gone around her neck and cut off her breath. Stepping closer to get a better look at it, the thing started making a noise and moved. She didn't know what this thing was, or if it could hurt her, but as hurt as she was after what the hated ones had done to her, she was not about to take any chances.

Her left hand flashed out in a blur to grab the strange thing right behind the part that appeared to have a mouth. That was when the thing opened that mouth, and she saw two long, thin teeth that started dripping stuff out of them. She didn't know what the stuff was, but she was relieved that she hadn't allowed the thing to try to bite her with teeth like that.

After washing out the containers, Takaa reentered the cave to a _very_ strong scent of fear from the female, and the disturbingly loud warning of one of the reptiles native to this area. He knew that the oomans called the creature a 'rattlesnake' and that they would also eat it, but it was also known to be highly venomous. Entering the rest of the way quickly, he took a look at the situation, and nearly started laughing.

The female had the snake by the head in her left hand, which was being held as far from her body as possible, and was moving in a desperate fashion to try to avoid the rest of the snake's writhing body. She had her right hand poised near her throat ready to grab anything that came towards it. That was when he realized that the snake's entire body had the same basic shape as a face hugger's tail, and that the female didn't wish to be strangled again.

"Do _not_ let go! That creature cannot hurt you as long as you have its head in your hand like that, so you can stop moving around so much. Just don't let go, and you will be fine." Takaa told her firmly.

The female released a ragged breath of relief and nodded her head as she followed his instructions.

"What... is... called...?"

"It is called a snake by the oomans who live on this planet." Takaa said as he placed the containers of water on a rock.

Takaa looked things over now that the female was still, and saw that the snake was around twelve nok long! Known to be stealthy and deadly because of their cold-blooded nature, which meant they were invisible to any Yautja not using a mask in an alternate vision mode. This was _not_ a meager capture!

"Did it bite you?" He asked urgently.

When the female shook her head to signal in the negative, Takaa let out a breath of relief. Then, the Arbitrator removed the sack that held the awu'asa of the bad blood as well as the weapons of the dead ooman. Retrieving the knife from the bag, He was about to take over to kill and clean the creature himself. That was when he realized, that having captured it alive, the female deserved the honor of the kill. He would have to instruct her in the process, but he knew that the skull and hide of the creature would make a respectable first trophy. Truth be told, it was actually much better than the small rodents that most Yautja pups practiced on before they entered their formal training. Such rodents were usually the first trophies that a Yautja claimed. His own first trophy had been one such rodent, and there was no way that he was about to deny this female the honor of her first trophy. Since there hadn't been time to claim a trophy from one of her actual first kills, which had been the hard meat face huggers; this would be more than appropriate.

"Good. If the creature had bitten you, then you would most likely die from the poison in its bite. Now, since you caught the creature, _you_ will be the one to kill it, and clean it, so we can eat it. The first thing I want you to do is tighten your hold on it. Cut off its air so it can't breath. That will kill it, and make it easier for you to clean." Takaa instructed.

The female looked at him apprehensively for a moment before she shook her head, and held the snake towards him. "I... not... know... how... You... clean...?"

"No! This is _your_ kill, not mine! If I had caught it, then I would be happy to clean it. _You_ caught this one, so _you_ have to clean it. That is our way. I will tell you what you need to do, but you will be the one to do it." Takaa told her firmly while wondering if perhaps he would have to kill the female as being unfit to become a part of Yautja society.

If this female couldn't kill a creature that she'd captured, then she would not be able to become a hunter, and she would never be accepted as one of them. Not even her Yautja DNA would allow such a thing, because not even a full Yautja would be tolerated under such circumstances. Those thoughts were quickly driven from the Arbitrator's mind when he saw the female tighten her grip while focusing on the snake.

"Tell... how... clean... snake...?" She asked excitedly. For the first time in her life, she felt an emotion that she had no words for. That emotion was hope. She had thought that this other might know what to do, and now she was sure of it. If this other would show her how to clean this snake so she could eat it, then she would also know what to do. She would be able to find many more of the snake and kill it, clean it, and eat it. She would know how to have food when she wanted it.

Takaa watched the female carefully as the snake writhed in a desperate attempt to escape from the female's grasp so it could breathe once more. The female kept her attention on the captured snake, and watched the coiling, writhing body carefully. It was obvious that, in spite of what he'd told her, she was still ready to act in case that snake tried to injure her in some way. That was good, since it showed that she was not going to let her guard down simply because someone else had told her that it was safe.

"I will tell you how to clean the snake after it is dead, because you will need both hands to clean it. You will need to listen carefully to my instructions, or you will ruin the meat and we will have nothing to eat. I am not sure about you, but I am hungry, and that snake is more than large enough to feed us both." Takaa told her in an amused tone.

The female nodded her head emphatically but nervously without taking her eyes off the dying snake. "I... hungry... want... eat... snake... You... hungry... want... eat... snake... I... not... want... ruin... snake..."

Takaa nearly laughed at how simple the female made it sound. The reason he didn't, was because of just how serious and earnest the female was. She obviously understood that neither of them would get anything to eat if she made a mistake, and she didn't want that to happen. She had even managed to convey her understanding in spite of her difficulty in speaking. That reminded him!

"While you kill the snake, I think I should begin teaching you how to speak in the Yautja language. You seem to be able to pronounce our words much easier than ooman." Takaa suggested. The response was immediate and undeniable.

"Yes...! Want... speak...! Want... speak... words... not... hurt...!" She exclaimed as rapidly as she could while vigorously nodding her head. If this other could teach her how to speak so it wouldn't hurt, then she would be able to say things, learn things, and ask about things, then she would know more of what to do. She wouldn't have to go back to the rooms of the hated ones if she knew what to do.

Takaa started out by teaching the female some of the same words that she'd already used. He was more than a little surprised by just how eager she was, in fact, she was almost _hungry_ to learn a language that she could physically speak. He decided that he couldn't really blame the female on that one, since all Yautja had trouble speaking the ooman languages because of their oral makeup. It was a physical limitation, but one which some of them strove to overcome, simply because it was a challenge. But if he were somehow limited to speaking ooman, then he too, would be more than eager to learn another language that was physically easier to say.

The female paid rapt attention and had learned perhaps half a dozen words by the time the snake was dead. Repeating the words, and partially mumbling the meanings of those words, the female was obviously determined to learn and remember them. Once the snake was finally dead, Takaa began instructing her in the proper method of cleaning it. He knew that the female was paying careful attention because of the way she would mimic the actions of his instruction in the air above the snake before looking at him for confirmation. Then she would meticulously carry out those instructions. Takaa took both the skull and the hide of the creature and rolled them up before placing them in the bag along with the rest of the gear.

By the time that the body of the snake had been gutted and skinned, Takaa was seriously wondering how those oomans had ever considered this female to be nothing more than a stupid animal. Even though she was barely able to speak, and that was only with great effort, she was still able to communicate during the process of cleaning the snake by using mostly motions and a few painfully spoken words to convey her meaning to get him to clarify his instructions. Though it took the female more then twice as long as it should have, Takaa could see that she was just as eager to learn as any Yautja pup and nearly three times as excited. Finally, the portions of meat were laid out on a series of rocks, and Takaa took a piece for himself as he handed the female one as well.

The Arbitrator began the process of removing his battle mask. First, he disconnected the air hoses that he'd reattached after regaining his weapons and armor. Then, breaking the seal, he pulled it off and laid it to the side. With that out of the way, he picked up a length of the snake that had been cut into sections rather than filleted because that was easier to manage for a first time attempt. He couldn't help salivating at the thought of fresh meat from a fresh kill. He bit into the meat with relish, and took his time stripping the numerous rib bones of the snake of their flesh. Tender, fresh, lightly bloody, and absolutely delightful, this meal was turning out to be something that he could actually savor in this whole mess. He was enjoying himself immensely, tasting every wonderful bite of fresh meat, and completely ignoring the rest of the world.

It was only after he had eaten his fill, that Takaa thought he should warn the female about the bones in the snake's body. He turned towards her to mention it when he realized that he was hearing a rather loud and steady crunching noise from the still eating female. He grabbed his mask and held it to his face to allow him to see what exactly she was doing. He watched the female take a rather large bite of the meat in her hands, and once again, he heard that loud crunch accompany each move of her jaws. He cycled through his visual modes in his mask to see what was becoming of the snake's bones. That was when he realized that the crunch he was hearing was the sound of the female chewing them.

His eyes widened and his mandibles went slack in surprise at the thought of actually eating the bones. Small and thin, they could easily damage the throat if not completely broken down. He quickly cycled his vision again and took a look at her throat. Takaa nearly dropped his mask when he saw the jaw structure of the female. Not one, but _two_ sets of teeth were chewing up the bones of the snake. The first set was situated almost normally for an ooman, but the second set of teeth was positioned near the back of her mouth where it merged with her throat. He could clearly see that second set of jaws that could have originated from no other creature than a Hard Meat.

'_Pauk! Her teeth are derived from the Hard Meat! What in Cetanu's name have those pauk-de oomans done?'_ Takaa thought in revulsion as he stared at the female that he was now sure he'd have to end up killing.

Oblivious to her observer and the thoughts that were going through his head at that moment, she was thoroughly enjoying the first full meal she'd ever eaten. Always before, the hated ones had given her a small portion of food, and it had never been enough to satisfy her appetite. Now though, she was allowed to eat as much as she wanted, and it didn't matter that she had no clue as to the meaning of enjoyment, or pleasure, she still felt both right then. From the time she had taken the first bite of food, she had decided that whatever this other wanted of her, she would do it without hesitation.

This other had done so many things for her, stopped one of the things sent by the hated ones from hurting her, gotten her out of the rooms and away from the hated ones, gotten her away from the hated ones who wanted to keep her, hurt the hated ones, and now had shown her what to do to have food. There were so many things that she didn't know words to express, things she wanted to express, but couldn't, because she didn't know how. One thing she was sure of was that she had been told that she could stay with this other. This other was teaching her things, how to have food, words that she could speak, and she felt that maybe after she learned all of those words, she would be able to say how she felt.

Takaa watched with interest as the female continued to eat. The large sections of the snake were being devoured one at a time, and slowly disappearing down the female's gullet. Suddenly he realized that his mask had recorded the conversation with the ooman who'd tried to make a deal in order to keep the female without a fight. He scrolled through the recording until he got to the part that contained the conversation. He then replayed it while paying careful attention to what was being said this time.

'_Pauk-de oomans! How dare they! Did those cowards have any idea what they were doing? Not only is this female part Yautja, and part Hard Meat, but she's only thirteen! She's nothing but a mere pup!'_ Takaa thought angrily.

'_This changes everything! I thought that she was older than she is, but she's only a pup. A pup! I can't take the risk of her getting killed. Hard Meat DNA or not, the councils would have me declared a bad blood for certain if I allowed that to happen. Even if they decree that she is to be executed upon our return to Yaut, I can not allow her to be placed at risk of recapture by the oomans. C'jit!'_ Takaa realized disgustedly after viewing the recording.

The law was clear and unmistakable. Pregnant females and pups were _never_ to be harmed! It made no difference if they used a weapon or not. They could be disarmed, or relieved of their weapon, but they could never be allowed to come to harm. There were _no_ exceptions to that law, and any hunter who dared to violate it, would quickly find themselves being hunted down by every Arbitrator and hunter in existence!

As much as he hated having to do so, he knew that he would now have to summon the other Arbitrators on board the ship. Prior to this disturbing revelation, he had planned on making his way back to the waiting vessel under his own strength, even though he'd known that he'd have to carry the female the entire way, but now? Now, he knew that he could be executed for jeopardizing the life of a pup by following through with such actions.

Takaa set the seal on his mask and quickly turned his attention to the computer on his left wrist. He entered a few commands on it, before he began typing out a message that would be sent to his ship. _'Encountered bad blood. Killed same. Have recorded proof. Was captured by oomans, and have escaped. Need emergency extraction for myself and one Yautja hybrid pup. Ooman lab remains intact at this time. Oomans of this lab have proven to have no. Repeat. No honor. Have recorded proof of multiple attacks against Yautja hybrid pup. Pup is currently at risk of recapture and further torture by oomans, and is in dire need of sanctuary.'_ Having finished typing out the message, he set to be sent via data burst transmission. Almost instantly, he received a confirmation that the message was received. A brief moment later, his wrist began tingling in a signal that an incoming message had been received.

'_Message received. In route to nearby location. Expect arrival between planetary dawn and planetary noon.'_

Knowing that there was now nothing he could do but wait, and hope to survive the coming drop in temperature, Takaa tried to relax for a while.


	5. Chapter 5

What Does Honor Really Mean 5

_**Author's Notes: Bree51… I am very glad that you've enjoyed this story so far, because I've put a lot of time and effort into it. About your lack of a profile… Just because you don't post a story, doesn't mean you aren't entitled to a profile page. What that page would do, is allow others to see the stories that you list in your favorites, and those Authors that you list as well… it's a way of recommending stuff you like to others. So, go ahead and create a profile so you can show others what you like. ;)**_

Relaxing turned out to be nearly impossible for the Yautja Arbitrator. The temperature drop that came with nightfall was much greater than he'd expected. He'd been forced by the body numbing cold to build the fire up to nearly twice the size that it had been. He knew that there was no way the meager supply of wood was going to even last through half the night. Even as large as the small fire was now, it wasn't nearly enough to keep him from shivering as a result of the chill deep in his bones. It was not a pleasant experience. As both a hunter, and an Arbitrator, he was expected to endure whatever physical hardship he encountered, but the same could not be said for the female.

He looked over at the female who appeared to be eating again to gauge just how much she might be suffering from the cold night. Takaa felt his mandibles go slack in shock at the sight of the female. He hadn't bothered with any of the alternate modes of vision in his mask and his naturally heat sensitive eyes clearly showed him that the female's body temperature had actually _increased_! Almost immediately, he began cycling through the various visual modes of his mask, while examining the female in each mode. He knew that the female's body temperature had risen dramatically, but what he didn't know, was the cause.

Certain that this female had spent her entire life in a contained cell, it was doubtful that she'd ever been exposed to any type of pathogens prior to their escape. Could she have caught some type of sickness during the trek here or possibly from eating that snake? Could the wound on her chest have become infected? Being part Yautja, could she have caught some form of illness from him even though he had the antibodies to be immune to it? Takaa didn't know the answer to those questions, but he knew that he'd have to find out.

"Dtou-di'nde... come... come here..." Takaa told her brokenly through chattering teeth.

He ground his teeth in anger at himself for being more affected by the cold than he'd realized. He knew that he'd have to take some precautions for the female's evacuation in case he did not survive the night.

The female held the chunk of meat that she was currently eating in her mouth as she moved to sit down next to him. The Arbitrator noticed that even without any training, her movements were fluidic and graceful. As soon as the female sat down, he placed his left hand on her shoulder, then on her forehead.

"Are you sick, or hurt?" Takaa asked making sure to speak clearly, in spite of the cold.

"Hurt..." She answered in a soft, broken growl while pointing to the sutures on her chest.

"That will hurt... for a while. Is the cold affecting you?" Takaa asked wondering if she would have enough experience to be able to answer.

The Arbitrator had seen many things in his life, but he got the shock of his long life when the female gave a long shudder as if she were cold, but at the same time her temperature increased again.

"Not... know... words... Feel... not... hurt... from..." She said waving one clawed hand around at the surrounding cave. "Do... something..." She answered pointing at her chest.

"Hated... ones... do... this... before... Try... hurt... I... I… did..." She said while obviously trying to think of the proper words.

Takaa knew that she was trying to explain herself, but without having someone to actively assist her while she was learning the ooman language, there were obviously large gaps in the female's knowledge of that language, and she most likely didn't know the words to express what she was thinking. He realized that he would have to teach her a few things quickly in order to understand her better.

"The fire is hot. It makes heat, and can help you stay warm if you are close to it. Stay too long and you will get too hot." Takaa said pointing at the fire that was barely big enough to cook on. "Over there, near the entrance, the rocks are cold. The air around us that we breathe is getting cold. Are you getting cold?" He asked wondering if he'd explained it properly.

To his surprise, the female shook her head vigorously. "Hated... ones... make... cold... before... I… make... heat... Not... know... how... but... make... heat... make… I... warm..." The female said as she again pointed to her chest.

Takaa's eyes widened as he realized what he thought the female was telling him. "Are you saying that when it gets cold like this, that you produce more heat inside to stay warm?"

The female nodded her head quickly in answer. "Why... you… not... make... heat...?" She asked pointing at him.

"I am not able to do that. I do not have that ability. I had a special suit to do that for me. The oomans destroyed it, when they took it from me." Takaa told her plainly.

She tilted her head slightly to her right in a mix of confusion and curiosity before she looked over at the small fire. Then she looked at the supply of wood. She had seen how much had been there when the other had brought her here, but now there was much less of it. She could see that it would not last very long. She didn't know what a 'special suit' was, but if this other didn't have one then what would happen to this other? She looked down at the rocks beneath her feet. If this other didn't get warm, would this other start to hurt and die? How would she learn more of what to do without this other to show her? Suddenly she got an idea. The air was cold, but the fire was making heat. She was also making heat. She couldn't make more of the fire, but she could make more heat.

"Make... more... heat..." She stated as she began to carry out her idea.

Takaa couldn't believe what this nearly naked female was doing! Too stunned to react, the Arbitrator sat there in silent disbelief as the young female climbed slowly into his lap and leaned her back against his chest. He could see from the slow and careful way in which the female was moving, that her chest still pained her, but she wasn't letting that pain stop her. That was good, since it showed that she wouldn't let an injury hinder her. Then, his thoughts flew from his mind as he felt the wonderful heat from female's incredibly warm body. She wasn't large enough to cover up even half of his body, but he knew that the amount of heat she was producing was more than enough to let him survive until the sun rose. The instant the full effects of the female's rather high body temperature hit him, Takaa began to emit a soft rumbling purr of pure bliss from deep in his chest.

As soon as she heard the other making that strange sound, she stiffened in momentary fear. Then she remembered a similar sound that another had made long ago. It was a sound that had once meant that she wouldn't be hurt, a sound that had once meant many things to her, and a sound she hadn't heard in a very long time. She leaned back against the other's chest, and tried to ease the pain in her own. She rather thought that this was no different from being in the room of the hated ones, in that she didn't know what she needed to do then either.

Takaa felt the diminutive female lean back against his chest in an effort to get comfortable. The creature was so small that even sitting in his lap, her head didn't quite pass the center of his own well muscled chest. He couldn't help a fresh burst of anger as he noticed the shallow and labored breathing of the female. He knew that her chest was still hurting her because of what those Cetanu spawned oomans had done. He could only hope that they hadn't done any internal damage to her or that if they had, it would be something minor enough that she would survive to reach his ship for a full medical evaluation. He wrapped his forearms around the female's stomach, and laid his head back against the rock wall of the cave to sleep.

The Arbitrator was roused from sleep by movement from the female in his lap. The display on his battle mask showed that it was now after sunrise. The female moved out of his lap on all four limbs and began to stretch. Mandibles drooped in admiration at the pure animalistic grace in which the female moved as she did so. First she stretched one leg, and then the other. Each move was slow, languid, and sensuous as the small female stretched the sleep from her body. Then, the female squatted on her feet and started to stretch her arms upwards. The moment she did, she gasped in pure agony as the breath left her body and she nearly collapsed.

Takaa was on his feet and crouched next to her in an instant. He grabbed her by both shoulders to support her weight, as the female tried to fight her way past excruciating amounts of pain just to breathe. He knew at once that she had either stretched some of the muscles attached to her ribcage, or the ribs themselves. Either way, what the female _had_ to be feeling could not be pleasant. He braced the female so she wouldn't fall forward and dislocate her ribs or sternum again since he knew that the connecting cartilage had not had time to reattach those flexible bones.

The Arbitrator resisted the urge to vent some of his anger, because he wanted to make sure that the next time he encountered those filthy oomans that _they_ would receive the full brunt of his rage. Instead, he kept his anger in check, and held the female while she slowly recovered her breath. When he finally saw her breathing begin to return to normal, he released his hold on her. The first thing she did was start moving towards the mouth of the small cave.

"Where are you going Little One?" He promptly asked her as he moved to follow her.

The only response from the female was a growled noise of such utter disgust and total revulsion that Takaa was _sure_ that he'd never be able to reproduce it. He cocked his head slightly to his right in confusion, because she hadn't told him anything. He didn't want her leaving the cave on her own, because he did _not_ want to risk her being recaptured by those pauk-de oomans.

"That did not tell me anything."

The female stared at him for a moment before making the same sound again, but this time her right hand made the motion of something leaving the area between her legs. Suddenly, he understood what she meant, and at the same time he recalled the two rooms that the female had been held in. _Now_ he understood the reason for such disgust in her voice. She had never been out of those rooms while she had been conscious, and any type of waste removal unit had been conspicuously absent from those rooms. That meant that she'd been forced to remain in the same room with her own bodily wastes. Beneath his mask, his entire face contorted in a mixture of disgust and rage. It was bad enough that those filthy oomans had violated her body with repeated surgical invasions, but to force her to remain in the same room with her own waste products was beyond degrading.

"Wait a moment, and I will come with you to make sure the oomans do not recapture you." Takaa said as he climbed stiffly to his feet.

Although the muscles in his arms had been kept fairly warm from being held against the female's stomach, the same could not be said for his legs. Stiff and aching from being exposed to the cold of the desert's night air, the muscles in his legs were slow to respond to the Arbitrator's will. He snarled silently to himself, since he didn't want to frighten the obviously skittish female, and forced his legs to move according to his demands. Then, getting into a low crouch, he followed the female out of the small cave.

The morning sun had already started the process of warming everything around, and it was obvious that the heat would soon set in. That didn't bother Takaa in the least. He used the computers in his mask and wrist comp to check the area for any oomans, and found none. He stepped from the shadows of the surrounding cliffs into the sunlight, and flared his mandibles in pleasure at the warmth that began penetrating his body. Then he looked over at the female nearby.

"Make your waste over there. Both the wind and the water are moving in that direction, so we will not need to deal with any smell, and it will not contaminate the water if we want more to drink." Takaa instructed the female while pointing a short way down stream.

The female nodded her head, and Takaa turned his back to afford her some privacy as she moved off. He knew from what he'd seen and heard that she had been under constant surveillance throughout her life. That was now going to change. Whether or not the councils permitted this strange hybrid to live, she was now in the capable claws of the Arbitrators; and because she was no bad blood, she would _not_ be treated like one. Both honor, and the laws that he was to enforce decreed that she be treated with respect, and that was exactly what would happen, whether the female recognized and understood that respect or not.

Takaa heard the female moving gingerly over the rocky ground as she made her way to the spot that he'd indicated. Then, a brief moment later, he heard the tell tale sound of liquid landing on the ground, and knew that she was tending to her body's needs. That same sound also made him aware of his own needs in that area, and he refrained from squirming in discomfort since he knew that it would be taken care of shortly.

Several moments later, he knew from the continuing sound that the female was still relieving her bladder, and his eyes widened in disbelief at the amount of liquid that the female just _had_ to be expelling.

'_How pauk-de much was she holding, and how long has she been holding it?'_ Takaa thought as his mandibles went slack in stark surprise at the sound of the still flowing liquid a few moments later. The Arbitrator was sorely tempted to turn around and actually look to see for himself just how much liquid the female had already expelled, as the sound just seemed to keep on going.

He knew immediately when the female had _finally_ finished her business, because of the sound of relief, which was immediately followed by a sound of utter disgust as she moved back towards him.

He turned around to see the female fighting with the over sized loincloth which had been pulled so far to the side that it was no longer covering anything except the outsides of her legs as she made her way over the rocky streambed. Takaa snorted in slight amusement, as he stepped forward to adjust the borrowed garment.

"Here. I will show you how that goes." Takaa said as he knelt down and began pulling the loincloth into the proper position.

"It goes this way, so that it covers your genitals. Once the ship arrives, you will receive clothing that will fit properly, and is more appropriate for a female to wear. For now, this will have to do." He told her before standing up.

"Now, you can go back into the cave and get a cup of water if you want it. Do _not_ eat any of the meat that is left! It will be ruined by now, and it will make you sick if you do eat it." Takaa instructed after realizing that this female had probably never been exposed to food that had been allowed to spoil.

When the female nodded her head, and went into the cave, Takaa went over to the spot where the female had relieved her bladder because he intended to do the same. Stepping over to the spot, Takaa froze in stupefaction. His mandibles drooped, his mouth fell open, and his eyes shot wide at the sight of the _huge_ wet stain on the ground! It looked as if more than three dozen drunken warriors had relieved their bladders in the same spot!

'_How the pauk can she hold that much?'_ Takaa wondered in disbelief as he stared at the ground where the female had emptied her bladder, and created a fair sized stream in the process. Then, hearing the female enter the cave to retrieve some water, the Arbitrator quickly bared himself and began to empty his own bladder near the spot that the female had used. He didn't use the same spot because there was no sense in making the scent any stronger than it already was. A soft growl of near bliss left his throat as he emptied his own bladder, and covered himself again.

Almost as soon as he'd gotten himself decently covered, the female exited the cave with a few pieces of snake meat in her hands. He noted that the female was watching where she placed her feet as she made her way over to where he was standing. When she reached where he was, the female held the meat out to him expectantly.

"Snake… meat… ruined…?" She asked hopefully.

The Arbitrator knew that oomans needed to eat more often than a Yautja did, and that they slept more frequently as well. Therefore the female was probably hungry, and most likely wanted to eat what she'd brought. He looked down at what she held in her hands, and although it looked fine, he knew that while it had been more than a little on the cold side, the rocks on the floor of the cave hadn't been nearly cold enough to prevent the growth of deadly bacteria. The meat itself _appeared_ to be perfectly fine and edible, but he knew that appearances were deceiving in this case, and that the meat in the female's hands was a slow and painful death from bacterial poisoning.

Takaa leaned forward to smell the meat. He closed his eyes and concentrated on what his sense of smell was telling him. His mandibles flared slightly beneath his mask as he realized that the meat wasn't as contaminated as he would have thought it would be. The cold air in the cave had retarded the bacterial growth to an extent, but not enough to allow the meat to be eaten raw. With no way to cook it, since all of the fuel had been used for the fire the previous night, there was no way that any of it could be safely eaten.

"Yes, the meat is ruined. That is what happens when it stays out for too long. After you make a kill, you must either eat it, or preserve it in a way that prevents it from spoiling. Understand?" He told her.

The female nodded her head, and he swore that he could detect longing in the expression on that small face. He knelt down, and quickly made a fairly deep hole in the ground that was large enough to hold all the meat that was left.

"Put the meat in there. I will cover it so the scent of it does not attract the oomans or scavengers that might alert the oomans to where we have stayed, that would put them on our trail, and help them find us. I do not know about you, but _I_ have no wish to return to that room!" Takaa instructed firmly.

Once again, the Arbitrator caught the thick pungent odor of fear from the female as she quickly dropped the meat into the hole, and stepped back.

"Not… not… want… room… Not… want… hurt…" She said as she bent her head to look at the line of bloody sutures between her breasts.

Takaa nodded his head as he made short work of burying the meat. He knew that this young female had _more_ than ample cause to fear being captured by the oomans. After what they'd done to her, after what he'd _seen_ them do to her, it was a wonder that she was still alive. He finished covering the meat, and knew that it would be at least a day before it began to smell strongly enough to attract any scavengers, but that was fine, they would be long gone well before then. Standing up, Takaa checked the location of his ship, and discovered that it was currently landing not too far away. Well, it wasn't really far for him, but the trek would be utterly impossible for the female even if she wasn't hampered by the fresh injury to her chest.

The ship was now close enough that its sensors would have readouts on the surrounding terrain, and the Arbitrator transferred a copy of that information to his wrist computer. He examined the area between himself and the ship, and flared his mandibles in a grin as he saw that he could follow this same streambed almost all the way to it. At a distance of fifteen miles as the oomans measured distance, or twenty four thousand three hundred and sixty nine point two nok, the ship was going to be easy for him to reach _without_ revealing any location to the oomans!

Takaa quickly began typing out a message on his wrist computer. _'Will follow stream from current position to these coordinates. Will head straight to ship from there. Hybrid pup is currently injured and unable to move for any distance unassisted. Will carry pup. Cloak is disabled. Hybrid pup is in need of medical. Chest of pup was opened last planetary rotation but is currently closed by ooman method. Will update as needed.'_ Takaa entered the coordinates as needed, and sent the message by secure data burst transmission, before turning his attention to the female.

"The ship has just landed. It is too far for you to walk. You are not only weak and injured, but you do not even have sandals to protect your feet. Those three things mean that I will have to carry you as I did when escaping from the oomans. Right now, I want you to stand right here while I retrieve the cup from the cave. We will be hungry until we reach the ship, but at least we can have water if we want it." Takaa said as he turned towards the cave.

The Arbitrator entered the cave and immediately grabbed the cup from the collection of three dishes. He dumped the remaining water out of it and placed the other two dishes back in the dead ooman's bags. Then he looked around the small cave to make sure that there were no visible traces of their presence the previous night. Satisfied that there were no real clues that could give him away, Takaa left the cave to see the female standing exactly where he'd told her to wait.


	6. Chapter 6

What Does Honor Really Mean 6

His wrist computer began to vibrate signaling that a message had been received, and Takaa pulled it up on his mask. _'Message received. Will rendezvous in route. Bringing medical for hybrid pup. Oomans found will be killed.'_

Takaa growled softly as he read that message, and quickly typed out a reply. _'Ensure that all wounds inflicted on oomans are not. Repeat. Not instantly fatal. Oomans should suffer for injuries to hybrid pup. Oomans intent on capture of pup for further torture and experimentation.'_

As soon as he sent the message, Takaa waited to see what the answer would be. It turned out to be a simple acknowledgement that the message was received. He nodded his head, mostly to himself, and stepped over to the female.

"I will need you to hold this while I carry you to the ship." Takaa instructed as he handed over the cup.

The female nodded her head and took the cup as Takaa picked her up and held her in his arms. The female rested her head against his right bicep, and placed her hands in her lap, just as she had the day before. Then, wasting no more time, Takaa began to jog rapidly as he followed the nearly dry riverbed downstream.

He maintained a light easy pace for a while to both loosen and warm the muscles in his legs. Then, once he was ready, Takaa began to pour on the speed. His legs flashed in a barely discernable blur as he sped down the riverbed. Being unable to cloak only served to make him move _much_ faster than he normally would have. He knew that running flat out like he was, would make him an extremely difficult target at best, and that was only if the oomans could keep him in sight long enough to actually _aim_ at him.

Being able to run at a pace that was three times faster than an ooman sprint meant that he was covering the distance rapidly. In less than an ooman hour, he had nearly traversed the distance needed to bring him into line with the ship. Just as he was about to stop and take a brief water break, he felt the female in his arms stiffen as he caught the rather strong scent of her fear at the same time. Just then, Takaa instantly came to a stop as soon as he saw several of his fellow Arbitrators decloaking nearby.

"_Greetings Arbitrator Takaa. Is that the hybrid pup you informed us about?"_ Asked a much older male that Takaa knew to be both a healer as well as an Arbitrator.

"_Yes, Arbitrator Kelar! The oomans deliberately used a face hugger to infect her. Then they cut open her chest to remove the still living larva. They only paralyzed her, and left her completely aware of the process. As soon as she regained her ability to stand, those pauk-de oomans began to place more hard meat eggs in her cell, one after another, then two at a time until the last, when they sent in four. She managed to kill all but the last. Her killing of the face huggers damaged her cell enough that I was able to break into it, and remove the tail of the final face hugger from around her neck. She threw it against a wall with enough force to rupture it. Her cell had been damaged enough by her fight to survive that I was able to break out of it. I brought her with me. I didn't discover the details about her until shortly before gaining an exit from the ooman facility. I didn't realize her age until right before I sent the first message, and the only reason that I reviewed the information from the ooman was because I discovered evidence that this hybrid is also part hard meat, as well as Yautja, and ooman."_ Takaa explained quickly.

Arbitrator Kelar looked at the female in Takaa's arms, and examined her in each of the visual modes of his mask as well as his own natural vision. Then, after examining the female in each of the usual modes, Kelar switched to a mode of vision that had recently been made available to some of the more prominent healers. It utilized the same portion of the electro magnetic spectrum that oomans used to perceive their surroundings. In that mode, the slight discoloration of scars showed up clearly, and the healer could easily see that each and every one of them were the result of some form of surgical procedure. A single glance at the most recent of those procedures showed dozens of primitive sutures holding the female's chest closed. Some of them had obviously torn to some degree and had bled slightly. That blood was still seeping from the wound, and it was certainly not ooman. The luminescent orange coloration of the female's blood clearly marked her as being radically different. In disbelief, he looked at the strange hybrid's face and saw further undeniable proof that the creature wasn't ooman. Large eyes that were a brilliant shade of green that few oomans had, also possessed a vertically slitted pupil that he knew was similar to some of this planet's predator population. The patterns of skin coloration were a further clue as to the possible origin of those striking eyes, but there was nothing he could see that gave any sign of Yautja blood.

"_How do you know that this hybrid even has any Yautja blood, Arbitrator Takaa?"_ Kelar promptly demanded.

"_As far as a fact goes, I don't. What I do have is a recording of the conversation with the ooman who was too much of a coward to show himself. I will play that for you now, as we head towards the ship."_ Takaa stated as he prepared to play the recording.

"_No! If that hybrid has no Yautja blood, then it will be disposed of immediately."_ Kelar declared firmly.

"_Then I demand that the councils hear her case! This pup is the only reason I was able to escape from the oomans as rapidly as I did. I _saw_ the events that I told you about, and _only_ her efforts to avoid seventeen of the face huggers allowed me to escape. She killed sixteen of them before the last one wrapped its tail around her neck, and she did that with a ribcage that was improperly closed. No training, _very_ little endurance, not to mention gravely injured, and she _still_ fought like a true warrior!"_ Takaa retorted angrily.

"_Then play this recording, Takaa. Let us all hear for ourselves what the ooman had to say."_ An Arbitrator named Setg'in asked stepping forward.

Takaa nodded his head, and mentally instructed his mask to play the recording. Almost as soon as it began, he could see several of the Arbitrators stiffen in anger at the callous words of the ooman.

"_Is the hybrid sentient, or not? If there is no sentience in its mind then it _will_ be disposed of immediately!"_ Kelar demanded.

Takaa stiffened in outrage. He knew that the female was intelligent, and had seen the results for himself; the only question was; how could he prove it beyond any dispute? Then he got an idea, and his mandibles flexed in a sly smirk as he placed the female on her feet.

"Dtou-di'nde, I know that words are difficult for you, but my fellow Arbitrators do not believe that you… _understand_ what is going on. I want you to tell them what 'Dtou-di'nde' means, and then tell them about the snake. Understand?" Takaa told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded her head to show that she understood what this other was asking of her. The hated ones spoke of her as a _'thing'_ or an _'animal'_, and had treated her that way, but this other didn't. She realized that this other didn't want the rest of these others to treat her that way either.

"Dtou-di'nde means… 'Little… One…' Other… say… I… not… be… called… Specimen… 2… 3… 1… 3… I… not… called… animal… I… not… called… thing… Those…not… name… Those… insult… I… caught… snake… Other… tell… I… kill… snake… Other… tell… I… have… to… clean… snake… Other… tell… how… clean… snake… I… hungry… I… not… ruin… snake… Other… cold… not… able… make… heat… I… make… heat… Make… other… warm…" She told them while struggling with all but the first of the words.

"Who is 'other'?" Kelar asked curiously as he fixed the female with a piercing gaze beneath his battle mask.

To his surprise, the female pointed at Takaa, who snorted before clicking in laughter.

"_I guess I forgot to tell her my name, rank, or even what species I am. Apparently she's chosen her own term for me."_ Takaa blurted in amusement.

Just then, another Arbitrator dropped from the edge of the cliff that lined the riverbed. At nine nok in height, the Arbitrator was obviously female, and apparently irritated by something, if Takaa were to judge anything by the stiff and rigid musculature on her.

"_Why is she wearing almost _nothing_? Is there even an under cloth beneath that loincloth she's wearing? And just _what_ exactly did she mean when she said she made heat and kept you warm?"_ The female Arbitrator said in a soft and dangerous growl of anger.

"_With respect, Kaldera, the oomans had not given her any clothing at all, and kept her naked. She was completely naked until I took that loincloth from the dead body of the bad blood that we were sent to find. His under cloth would not have fit her, but the belt could be adjusted, so I gave her that while making our escape for the ooman lab. There was nothing else available that wasn't drenched in ooman blood. As for the rest; she can apparently regulate her body temperature somehow, and she used that ability to raise her body heat while she slept in my lap to prevent me from suffering from the cold. It was entirely her idea, and I swear upon the honor of my clan, and upon the honor of Lilka herself that I have not touched her in anyway that was not meant to assist her in some way…"_ Takaa was about to say more, but he became distracted by the female he'd brought with him as she approached the female Arbitrator.

She stared at the other that had just come from that high place to her right, and couldn't believe her eyes. This other looked so _familiar_ that it was almost painful to her. Without even realizing what she was doing, she stepped forward, wrapped her arms around the familiar other, and laid her head on the right leg of the other.

"Ama…!" She said softly in a voice that was more of a desperate pleading growl than anything else.

Kaldera went stiff in stark disbelief, before she looked down at the supposed hybrid who was acting as if she were a member of the clan. She was very glad that she was wearing her mask, because otherwise everyone would have seen her surprise written in her wide eyes and slack mandibles.

"Ama… where… hated… ones… take…?" She practically begged. "I… not… want… hated… ones… take… Ama…! I… not… want… Ama… leave…"

"_Pauk! If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think that she believes that _you_ are her bearer!"_ Kelar stated in snort of amusement.

"_This is nothing to laugh about, Kelar. She obviously does think I am someone else, and I have a rather nasty suspicion that she believes that I am her bearer! This is exactly how a frightened and injured pup would act while approaching its bearer."_ Kaldera replied as she removed the small female's arms from around her thighs.

Kaldera held the female's hands in her own as she knelt down to get to close eye level with the female. Then, she let go of the small hands, and removed her mask. Holding her mask in her right hand, she looked at the female once more.

"I am not Ama. My name is Kaldera." She said clearly as she looked the female in the eyes.

Kaldera remained almost motionless as the small female in front of her went through several different emotions in a few short seconds. She knew that this had happened because of the rapidly changing expressions on the female's face. Then she held motionless as the female in front of her slowly reached towards her mandibles, and gently used the tip of one claw to pull on one of her tusks. Instantly, the Arbitrator flared her mandibles in irritation. She was surprised however when the small female tilted her head in obvious confusion while gazing in silent confusion at her mouth.

"You… not… Ama…! Know… where… Ama… is…?" The slowly spoken words were filled with emotional pain and a tremendous amount of longing.

"Why did you need to see my mouth to know that I am not Ama?" Kaldera asked somewhat puzzled.

"Ama… have…" Here the female pointed to the mandibles on the Arbitrator, before pointing to her own lips.

"_Pauk! That ooman spoke the truth then! There _is_ an ooman Yautja hybrid that spawned this one! You were right to get her out of there, Takaa."_ Kelar stated heavily.

"Yes Kelar, he was. And since this young one can not speak our language yet, we will _all_ speak ooman when we are around her. She has shown no disrespect to any of us, so none of _us_ will show her any disrespect by speaking a language that she is unable to understand!" Kaldera added firmly as she shot a hard glare at the surly Arbitrator.

"You don't even know for a fact that it wasn't just mimicking words that Takaa taught it to say! How do you even know if it's actually sentient?" Kelar retorted instantly.

"How do explain her questioning me on my identity then? Were she _not_ sentient, there is _no_ way that he could have taught her to seek out the only female in this group!" Kaldera shot back as she turned her head to once again glare at the other Arbitrator, before her attention was brought back to the small female standing in front of her.

"Kaldera know… where… Ama… is…?" She asked once again in a hopeful tone after tapping the other on her shoulder.

"It used your name!"

Kaldera ignored the outburst from the notoriously grouchy Arbitrator, and focused on the female in front of her instead. "No Little One. I do not know where this 'Ama' of yours is. I have never met her so I do not know her either, but I can tell you that if this 'Ama' can be found in that ooman facility, then we will bring her back with us. Understand?"

There was no mistaking the expression of hope on the female's face as she quickly and emphatically nodded her head.

"Dtou-di'nde, you might want to get a drink of water from the stream before we leave and head to the ship. It will be much… warmer once we are away from this streambed, and you will not be able to get anything else to drink until we reach the ship." Takaa suggested suddenly.

"It will only take us half of an ooman hour to reach the ship from here, so why would that creature need water now?" Kelar demanded.

"Her body temperature is much higher than ours, and she has _never_ been outside of the ooman facility. She has never felt the kind of heat that we will face, and she has nothing to help her regulate her body temperature…" Takaa started to explain when he was interrupted.

"You do not have anything to perform that task either, Takaa. Therefore _I_ will carry the female from here. You will have no problem reaching our ship, but from what you have told us, she would not be able to make the trip." Kaldera insisted quickly.

"I will not argue, though she weighs next to nothing. When I asked during our escape if she'd ever been outside of the rooms that the oomans kept her in, she said no. So, she cannot possibly have the endurance to make the trip on her own. She follows instructions very well, but she will need her ribs tended to once we reach the ship. Those pauk-de oomans did not even use any pain blocker on her while they cut her chest open, broke her rib cage apart, and removed the chest buster. When they were done, they just dumped her on the floor in her own blood. I have seen cripples who were given more respect than she received from those insects!" Takaa agreed.

"Go ahead and get that thing some water so we can get back to the ship…"

"I… want…Kelar not… call… I… thing… Other… name… I… Dtou-di'nde! I… call… Kelar thing… now…?" She asked after tapping the large other named Kaldera in front of her.

Kelar roared with anger as he extended the blades on his right wrist, and he stepped towards the small female intending to teach the creature a rather painful lesson in how to treat her elders. He was stopped by the sound of not just one, but _three_ plasma casters being activated.


	7. Chapter 7

What Does Honor Really Mean 7

"Do not even _think_ of trying to harm her, Kelar! Take just one more step towards her, and I will kill you as a bad blood. I have been recording _all_ of this, and not even the council of Arbitrators will be able to argue with my reason." Takaa growled.

"Stand down Kelar. If Takaa does not kill you, I will! You began this by insulting her first! She has only returned the same level of respect that you have given to her. She was not even speaking to you, but was asking _me_ a question! If you do _not_ stand down immediately, I will kill you anyway. She is obviously still a pup, she has no training, and she _certainly_ does not have any weapons hidden on her body. Any of those reasons are enough to justify your _immediate_ execution!" Kaldera snarled as she faced the irate Arbitrator that she'd turned and aimed at in a single swift move.

"It seems that your attitude has finally gotten the better of you, Kelar. You would do well to heed their warnings, and be glad that they have seen fit to give you one. I too would have stopped you from causing harm to the female. Only a bad blood would dare to provoke a pup in order to have an excuse for the killing. The only reason you are still breathing is because you _do_ happen to be the most skilled healer aboard the ship, and the pup appears to need those skills, otherwise, I would not even have allowed you to live long enough to hear their warnings." Setg'in announced from a short distance behind Kelar.

"If you refer to her as a _'thing, animal, or creature'_ again, I will not hesitate to kill you, Kelar. She has had no choice or say in what she is, and after that recording, her fate will be left to the councils to decide. If you attempt to provoke her in _any_ way, I will assume that you intend to use an insult as an excuse to kill her, and I _will_ end your existence! As of this moment, this female is under _my_ care, and if she is harmed for _any_ reason, I can promise that who _ever_ is responsible, will scream for a _very_ long time before they finally die! Have I made myself perfectly understood?" Kaldera snarled in a hiss of rage.

"Yes…! I… not… want… you… hurt… I…!" Dtou-di'nde said in a desperate and struggling voice as she began stepping back from Kaldera.

A thick and sickeningly sweet, but strong and pungent odor assailed Kaldera's senses as she snapped her gaze over to the female nearby. The first thing she noticed was the expression of fear on that small face. What surprised her though, was the strong similarity between the scents of a Yautja's fear, an ooman's fear, and that of this female. The strength of that scent grew almost exponentially when she snapped her right hand out and caught the smaller female's wrist.

"Relax Little One; I am not going to hurt you…" Kaldera began soothingly.

"You… tell… you… kill…"

"I said that you will remain with me, and that I would kill anyone that tries to hurt _you_! I did _not_ say that I would kill or even hurt you, because I will not. Now, I think Takaa was right, and that you should get some water before we leave here." Kaldera explained softly.

"That… _pup…_ understood you!" Kelar ground out after correcting what he'd been about to say.

"Yes, she did. She explained to me, that she can understand much more than she's able to say, and if you _still_ doubt her intelligence, then why don't _you_ try learning a strange language by merely observing it being used. I think she has done remarkably well to have learned as much as she has." Takaa replied as he watched the small female move hesitantly towards the stream.

She did what the other named Kaldera had told her, and went towards the stream to get some water. She squatted down next to the waters edge, and filled the cup, before downing the water quickly. She was hungry, and since she couldn't have any food, she could at least have a lot of water. She was gulping down a third cup when the wind shifted and she smelled something familiar. It wasn't a scent from the rooms of the hated ones, but it was still a scent that she knew. She stood up sniffing the air heavily. She had never tracked anything down by its smell before, but that didn't stop her instincts from allowing her to follow that smell to its source.

She stepped into the stream while continuing to sniff the air like a male scenting a ready female. Then she approached the cliff on the other side of the stream, she was standing almost against the cliff, as her sniffing got stronger and faster. Suddenly she saw it, right as the creature lunged for her face with mouth open, deadly fangs bared and aimed straight at her. Her right hand flashed up and caught the creature right behind the head, just as she had done the night before. She was actually happy as she pulled the rest of the snake out of the crevice in the cliff. Once she had the snake securely in her hands, she turned to face the other who had taken her away from the hated ones.

"Snake… not… ruined… Clean… snake… Make… snake… meat…?" She asked the other hopefully.

"_Pauk! That was fast! I didn't even see her hand move!"_ Kelar exclaimed in surprise.

Takaa began clicking in laughter. "Yes, she _is_ fast! Faster than anyone I've ever seen, and that was how she was able to kill the face huggers."

"Is she asking what I think she is asking?" Kaldera asked Takaa slightly confused.

"She is asking if we can eat that snake since the last one she caught was ruined by sitting out all night. She wanted to finish eating that snake when we woke up, but I didn't let her. It didn't _smell_ as if it was spoiled, but then that _is_ the most dangerous time to eat raw meat." Takaa explained easily.

Kaldera nodded her head before turning her attention to the hybrid, who was coming back across the stream with snake in hand. "We do not have time to stay here while we eat, but I can clamp the snake's mouth, so you can clean it when we get to the ship."

"Snake… not… ruin…?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

"No. The snake will not ruin as long as it is alive. Once we get to the ship you can eat it and make a pair of trophies from the skull and skin." Kaldera said with a pleased set to her mandibles. "Now, bring the snake to me, and I will carry it in my bag for you."

The rattlesnake was buzzing angrily as the hybrid brought it over to her, and she quickly fastened a clamp around its mouth to keep it from biting. Kaldera estimated that it was about four and a half nok in length, which made it a fairly respectable catch. Placing it in her trophy sack, she replaced her battle mask and looked at the small female. "Are you ready to leave now?"

When the small hybrid nodded her head, she reached down and lifted the female in her arms. The female immediately folded her hands and laid them in her lap over the loincloth while resting her head against Kaldera's left bicep. As soon as she saw that the female was in a comfortable position in her arms, Kaldera began leaping from one small ledge to the next as she made her way up the face of the small cliff. Then, once her feet were on the somewhat level surface of the desert floor, she cloaked and took off at a run while carrying the female. She couldn't hear the other Yautja around her even though she knew they were there. Their skills in stealth and silence made sure that they would not be detected by any sound that could be heard. A fair distance off to her right, she could see Arbitrator Takaa running towards the ship as well. Although he wasn't cloaked, he was still moving fast enough that he would make for an extremely difficult target for anyone who tried to attack him.

Running through the desert hadn't been any type of problem. Although Takaa had been certain that they would have run into at least _some_ of the oomans, but they hadn't. It was an anomalous incongruity that had the Arbitrator on edge. He knew that these particular oomans had been willing to sacrifice many of their own kind to the face huggers in order to lay a trap that would enable them to retain their possession of the female. With that in mind, he _knew_ they wouldn't her let this go easily.

They had landed the ship among the remains of what had once been a huge plateau, but was now a series of massive rock formations and boulders in piles that were several stories high. The interior of the vessel had been built using the same folded space technology that was used in both the construction of the extendable wrist blades, and the ship's interstellar drive. If it were uncloaked, the outside of the vessel would not appear much bigger than some ooman sailboats. It was only one of the many things that made the Yautja so difficult to capture. As they approached the spot where the cloaked vessel was sitting, the cloaking field dropped for a brief moment to allow the Arbitrators to enter. As soon as they had, the cloak was restored, and the vessel was once more undetectable to the native oomans.

Upon entering the ship, Kaldera took the small female in her arms straight to the medical bay, so that she could be examined and treated. She placed the female down on the first examination table, to wait until the two healers arrived.

"I… clean… snake… now…?" She asked looking up at the other who was standing to her left.

"Not yet. First, we will see to the wound in your chest, and make sure that you have no other injuries. Then you may clean the snake. Why are you in such a hurry? The snake will still be waiting for you." Kaldera replied plainly.

"I… hungry… I… want… eat… snake…"

"That _would_ be a good reason to be eager for the task." Kaldera replied with a small huff of amusement. "But do not worry, I will see to it that you are fed soon, and I will make sure that you get plenty to eat. _Then_ you can clean the snake."

The female nodded her head and then looked over at the door to the medical room a second or two before it opened and several others began to file in. Setg'in was the first to enter, but he was immediately followed by Kelar, and Takaa. Almost on the heels of the first three Yautja was another Arbitrator that Kaldera knew as Rafik who was also fairly skilled as a healer, but not nearly as much so as Kelar.

Kelar almost seemed to ignore the hybrid female as he went straight to the equipment and went about the task of preparing a scanner for examination along with a large injection of healing serum. He set the scanner in place, and picked up the injector that he'd finished filling and turned to the small female who was watching him. Without a single word or any other kind of warning, the healer jabbed the injector into the female's thigh and had the entire amount inserted into the female's leg in an instant.

She would have hissed in pain when the other stuck that sharp thing in her leg, but the other had done it quickly, and then removed it. Looking down at her leg, she saw the large bulge of what had been put in it. Then she heard a strange noise and looked up to see the other who had done that falling to the floor after getting hit by Kaldera. Then, a small noise did escape her throat as her thigh began hurting from the sudden expansion of the skin and compression of the muscles caused by the injected gel. Not wanting this other to hurt her anymore, she started to move away from it.

As soon as the small hybrid began to move, Kaldera placed a hand on her shoulder. "Remain still Little One. He will not do such a thing again." She said reassuringly.

Her words had no effect as the female continued to move, and suddenly, she had her hands full while she tried to keep the female on the examination table. "You need to stay on the table Little One." She said firmly as she tried to hold the hybrid in place.

No sooner was that said then the female shook her head and struggled even harder to leave. Then Kaldera had her hands full with a small female that was apparently much stronger than she appeared. _"Help me hold her!"_

Suddenly, four Yautja had their hands full as each one tried to hold onto a struggling limb. It wasn't nearly as easy as they had thought it would be, and each of them was thoroughly surprised by the amount of strength possessed by the small hybrid.

She felt the hands of these others holding her on the table, and she didn't want to stay there and be hurt anymore. The incredible pain in her leg had now spread throughout her entire body, and never had she hurt like this before. The pain was coming from every part of her, both inside and out. These others had put her so that she was lying on her back, and they were still holding her. There was nothing she could do to get away from them, even though she tried as hard as she could. Always before, when the hated ones had done something to hurt her, she had been unable to move, or even ask them to stop. In desperation, she now tried to do just that.

Holding the female wasn't easy because she was struggling with every last bit of strength that could possibly be contained in such a small body. Then, the female opened her mouth and a second set of jaws that were all too familiar to the Yautja emerged. The sound that came out of that mouth though, was something that they _hadn't_ heard. It wasn't just a sound of agony. It was a screeching, soul-rending cry of gut wrenching agony that contained every bit of pain that the female _had_ to be feeling at that moment, but more, it was also a sound that conveyed a feeling of complete betrayal, desperation, and terror.

Even as she opened her mouth to try to ask them to stop, she felt something move in her throat. Never before had she been able to make any kind of sound while being hurt, so for the first time in her memory, she screamed in pain. She didn't know why this was happening, but then she had never known the reason for being hurt by the hated ones either. What she _did_ know was that the other called Kaldera had told her that this would not happen. But it was happening, and the other called Kaldera was holding her so that she couldn't get away from what was making her hurt. Suddenly, the pain flared even worse and she heard the same sound that the hated ones had caused that last time. She tried to scream again, but all she could manage was a soft whimpering whine of complete agony.

The little hybrid was definitely strong. Of that there could be no doubt, but after only what seemed to be a few short moments, the female's strength began to fade, and Takaa was glad that she had such little endurance. Then, he heard it. A sound that he'd heard only once before, and he instantly cycled the visual mode of his mask to see that the female had fought so hard that she'd ruptured her ribcage again.

"_Let her go before she kills herself! She's broken her ribcage back open!"_ Takaa yelled as he let go of the arm he'd been restraining.

Takaa saw the other Arbitrators react immediately, and as soon as they had let go, the female was rolling over to attempt an escape. No sooner was her back to him then he quickly reached around and pulled her to his chest. He had seen just how fast she could move, and he knew that she was much, much faster than he was, but he also knew that if he didn't act now, that the healing serum would fuse her ribs in a damaged position. Snatching her back up against his chest, he quickly began forcing her ribs back into place. It was an act that took perhaps half of an ooman second, but it was long enough for her to give a soft cry of protest, pain, and frustration. Then he used his right hand to lower her quickly to the floor.

She didn't know how it had happened, but suddenly, somehow, she was loose! She was free of the others who had caused her to hurt. She didn't stop to wonder how or even think about this. Instead, she bolted forward to the only place she could see that would get her as far from these others as possible.

Kaldera watched in silent anger as the small hybrid leapt up to grab the covering of the ventilation shaft on the ceiling. The female huddled tightly against it while eyeing both her and her fellow Arbitrators with more distrust than she had ever seen on any one face. Enraged by what had just happened, she turned to Kelar who was climbing angrily to his feet.

"_You _dare_ to strike me when I am doing what was required? I will kill you for that!"_ Kelar blurted.

"_You were _told_ what would happen if you harmed the female and you_ deliberately_ made sure to inject her with enough serum to treat _five_ full grown Yautja! You _knew_ that it would cause intense pain, but you didn't even bother to warn her that it would hurt!"_ Takaa exclaimed as he shoved his extended wrist blades against the healer's neck.

"Dtou-di'nde, listen to me. I need you to come back over here, and we will give you something to make to pain stop." Takaa said calmly as he glanced over at the hybrid who was now clinging to the vent grill on the rear ceiling.

Kaldera stepped towards the hybrid to see her shake her head in violent denial.

"Other… Kelar hurt… I… I… not… want… hurt…!"

The softly whimpered words were distorted by the intense pain that Kaldera knew the female was in. She knew that the healing formula was painful. Because of the way it worked, it could not be otherwise. Forcing the cells of any living body to grow, divide, and multiply at a rate that was sped up by a factor of hundreds, and even _thousands_ was inherently excruciating, and when she considered that the female had also broken her ribs loose again, that only added to the pain. For someone as young as this hybrid, a pain blocking serum should have been administered first. Looking closer, she saw that the limbs of the female were beginning to tremble as if under strain. Suddenly, the hybrid lost her hold and fell.

Kaldera instantly surged forward and caught the small female as gently as she could. The hybrid landed in her arms with a soft cry of dismay, and Kaldera quickly spoke to try to reassure the female.

"Easy Little One. A fall like that will only cause more pain and make you hurt longer." She said softly as she noticed Rafik now by her side with an injector of pain blocking gel in hand.

"This is Rafik; he is going to give you an injection that will make you stop hurting. I want you to let him do it, understand?" She asked in a soft trill just before she began to purr in an effort to calm the small hybrid.

The female nodded her head, but Kaldera could see that the answer was made with a very strong reluctance. She then noticed the incredibly strong scent of fear emanating from the female. It was so intense that even though filtered to a high extent by her mask, it was still overpowering enough to cause some amount of anger in her. She did her best to ignore that anger, because with the amount of serum in the female's body causing her pain, this female had reason to be afraid.

She nodded once to signal the healer to begin the injection, and she was pleased to note that Rafik performed the task slowly enough that nothing occurred to increase either the fear, or the pain that the little female was experiencing. Within mere moments, the female began to breathe easier, and the muscles her body became less tense as the pain decreased rapidly.

She heard the words from the other called Kaldera, but she didn't know how this other could make the hurting stop. She had known for a long time that she would keep hurting for a _very_ long time after the hated ones did something to her. Now the other called Kelar had done something to make her hurt far more than the hated ones had ever done, and she didn't know how the hurting could stop.

She watched closely as the one Kaldera called Rafik did the same thing that the other Kelar had done, except this time, it didn't hurt when the other started putting the stuff in her leg. Then, slowly at first, the hurting began to stop. When it did, she looked at her leg, and then her chest in disbelief. She could see where the hated ones had hurt her, but it wasn't hurting anymore. Her innate curiosity was aroused and she tentatively poked at her chest with one of her claws. She felt the pressure, and the touch, but she didn't feel the hurt even when her claw punctured the skin of her chest.

"Stop that! You cannot feel any pain right now, but you can still be injured!" Kaldera snapped quickly as she looked down at the female in her arms, before she froze at the expression of complete confusion on the face of the female.

She looked at her chest, and her thigh, before she looked at what the hated ones had done a few sleeps before she had first seen the other Takaa. She didn't understand how this had happened. First, the other Kelar had stuck her leg and made her hurt like she never had before, but then the other Kaldera had told her to let the other Rafik stick her other leg the same way, but now she didn't hurt anywhere. For as long as she could remember, she had always felt hurt from what the hated ones had done to her, but now the hurt was gone.

"Kaldera I… not… hurt…?"

"No, Little One, I will not hurt you, nor will I allow _others_ to hurt you. And we will _not_ allow you to be in pain for no reason." Kaldera answered firmly as she turned with the female still in her arms, only to be confronted by the sight of Takaa still holding his wrist blades against Kelar's throat.

Kaldera said nothing as she placed the female back down on the med table. She calmly checked to ensure that the female would be comfortable for a moment before she turned to face the healer.

"There will be no more warnings Kelar. If you do anything, and I do mean _anything_ else that causes this pup to experience _any_ more pain, then you will die! Is that understood? There will be no more explanations or warnings. That female has suffered enough at the hands of those pauk-de oomans! She will _not_ be subjected to the same treatment from _us_!" Takaa snarled before retracting his wrist blades and turning away.

"You will examine her now, and I warn you. I _will_ be watching, _closely_!" Kaldera growled softly at the healer as she rubbed the female's back in a soothing manner.


End file.
